A workstation for manipulation of micro objects

The micromanipulation of tiny mechanical and biological objects, with its wide range of application, is becoming a research field of strong interest both for university and industry. Micromechatronics and robotics may be capable of improving present micromanipulation techniques and even of opening new application areas. In this paper, after a short illustration of the state of the art, a critical analysis of the problems to be solved for reducing current limitations and improving micromanipulation devices is presented. Finally, the main features of a workstation for micromanipulation of micro-objects which is being developed in the authors' laboratory are discussed.