Lidong Yang, a PhD student at the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, has received the Best Student Paper Award at 2020 IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE 2020). Robots at nanometer to millimeter scales have great potential for minimally invasive medicine. Recent research has shown the capability of microrobots for targeted drug delivery and precise micromanipulation. As magnetic field has intrinsic safety to living organisms and can penetrate tissues, magnetic microrobots have been preferable candidates for biomedical applications. Large-workspace and high-resolution microrobot navigation is essential for microrobotic delivery in endovascular or digestive systems. However, the large-workspace and high-resolution magnetic microrobot navigation is challenging and remains unsolved in the field of magnetic microrobotics. Firstly, strength of magnetic field decreases very fast when increasing the working distance. Secondly, there is contradiction between resolution and field of view (FOV) of a feedback instrument. Under the supervision of Professor Li Zhang, Lidong provide a solution to this challenging problem by designing a new magnetic manipulation system with mobile coils and eye-in-hand feedback for actuation and tracking of microrobots in large workspace. We also develop automation technologies to allow microrobots to navigate in complex environments automatically. The research work paves the way for the automated large-workspace microrobot navigation and related medical applications. The CASE is a flagship automation conference of IEEE Robotics and Automation Society. The best paper award recognizes the best paper authored primarily by a student and presented by the student at the CASE. It is supported by his academic family to honor Professor Yu-Chi (Larry) Ho, a Past President of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Council, which later became the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society. |
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