Control of rigid and flexible objects on a pneumatic active surface device

Abstract

Submillimeter or even micro-sized objects, such as micromechatronics, are becoming increasingly important and have the potential of making a huge impact on our society. Current manufacturing techniques are, however, incapable of massively parallel automated handling of objects at these scales, thereby limiting the possibilities of widespread commercial success in these fields (e.g., micro-electromechanical system, MEMS). In response to this type of challenge, a programmable, closed-loop controllable, pneumatic active surface device has been developed, the details of which are presented in this paper. It is a fundamentally new approach to automated massive parallel small-sized parts manipulation. By regulating the air flow in and out of numerous small orifices, the pneumatic active surface device, is shown to cause objects placed on the array to be moved in ways that are useful. It offers great flexibility, speed and the possibility of potentially handling many objects simultaneously. It can be employed to position, orient, identify, sort, feed, and assemble parts or objects. The first part of this paper describes the experimental device used to prove the concept and possible applications. The latter part of the paper goes into detail on the basics of closed-loop motion and positioning control techniques for rigid (VLSI chips, MEMS) objects and the control of flexible (PVC polyvinyl foil, paper) objects.