Microman - autonomous omni-directional microrobot-system for biotechnological and miniaturized automation

In this paper we present a new autonomous mobile robot for research focused on the field of biotechnology and miniaturized automation. The robot “Microman”, itself is modular structured by a basic and functional unit. With a diameter of 50mm and an omni-directional driving system the robot is able to move in comparison to other systems in a very limited area. Due to the wireless charging system in combination with a variety of different contactless sensors the use in contaminated applications is possible. In addition the robot comes with a versatile arena with several application modules, which are described in the system overview. Here a cell screening application is selected. The mechanical and electrical design as well as the novel color-based navigation system and first results complete this paper.