Hybrid Control of Microbiorobots at Low Reynold Number
In this work schemes for microscale transport and assembly are investigated that employ bacteria as actuators and sensors in low Reynolds number fluidic environments. Bacteria are controllable en masse through light and chemical sensory mechanisms as well as by electrokinetic means. Selected strains of swarming Serratia marcescens are cultured and attached to microstructures using a blotting technique that creates a bacterial monolayer carpet. These bacterial carpets naturally self-coordinate to propel custom designed microstructures. Control techniques are demonstrated that exploit the electrokinetic and phototactic (light response) behavior of certain bacteria. The resulting on/off rotational control and two-dimensional translational control schemes are experimentally investigated. Additionally, these microbiorobots are integrated into feedback control systems using computer vision tracking techniques.
Collaborators: Prof. Vijay Kumar @ UPenn, Prof. George Pappas @ UPenn, Prof. Agung Julius @ RPI
