Cooperative Bubble Microrobots

Our lab at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa has developed an optically controlled microrobot system. The microrobots consist of very tiny (0.1 to 0.5 mm in diameter) air bubbles inside of a fluid-filled chamber. Light is used to heat the surface of the chamber, which generates a force that moves around the microrobots. The microrobots can be used move around objects that are less than a millimeter in size. Many microrobots can be independently controlled in parallel by using multiple light patterns. This can be useful for building structures made up of living cells. For more information see our lab website at ~aohta/