Towards high-speed automated micromanipulation

In this work, we present a high-speed pick-and-place method for cell-assembly applications. Besides range of motion and accuracy, rapidness of a manipulation system is an important parameter, which is so far underrated in related studies. To achieve high-speed micromanipulation, obtaining 3D positions of both the target microobject and the end effector rapidly is necessary. In addition, controlling the vibration of the end effector, which is greater at high speed, is another arduous task. We propose a new fast detection algorithm for both the target microobject and the end effector for achieving high-speed control of the system. Moreover, to realize the stable control for very fast movements, the vibration of the system is compensated. High-speed control of the microhand system is demonstrated with preliminary experiments consisting of pick-and-place actions of 40 to 60 μm microspheres; we aimed at performing a manipulation task in 1 second. Comparison with similar studies shows the merit of the proposed automated high-speed micromanipulation system.