3D printed vision-based micro-force sensors for microrobotic applications

Over the years, research and development into micro-force sensing techniques has gained a lot of traction, especially for microrobotic applications, such as micromanipulation and biomedical material characterization studies. Moreover, in recent years, new microfabrication techniques have been developed, such as two-photon polymerization (2PP), which enables fast prototyping, high resolution features, and the utilization of a wide range of materials. In this work, these two fields are combined to realize the first fully 3D printed vision-based micro-force sensor. The sensor exhibits tunable stiffness properties, which are simulated and compared with calibration values for a variety of 2PP printing settings. Furthermore, a novel bimaterial printing approach was utilized to fabricate sensors with a highly compliant sensing structure and rigid body. Lastly, the sensors are used to measure the mechanical properties of fish eggs as a cell analog to showcase the possible applications of the system.