ROS Implementation for Untethered Microrobot Manipulation

Abstract

In this section, a ROS implementation of a system which is utilized for untethered microrobot manipulation is introduced. Untethered microrobot locomotion is an area that is studied globally and magnetic actuation is one of the proven methods for microrobot locomotion. Several types of actuator systems were approved by successful works and became associates in the literature works. These locomotion strategies require real-time and closed-loop control for most of the applications. We developed a custom actuation system using a coaxially aligned electromagnet couple, providing magnetic field for locomotion and the actuator structure was carried by an industrial manipulator, KUKA robot. So that, the complexity of electromagnet current control is divided into simpler sub parts that involve mechanical translation and rotation motions. This structure principle provides the capability of a larger task space. KUKA manipulator and electromagnetic actuator (EMA) as its end-effector form the main system structure. Also, visual feedback is provided by camera systems. Some tasks were distributed to peripheral NVIDIA Jetson TK1 Embedded Development Kits. Here, we focus on the integration of ROS into a microrobot manipulation or alike systems. System components, integration, control, test phases and detailed ROS components are described, an application with the results is presented.