This set of pictures is about a micro bug. Its length is around six millimeter. It has two arms which can do rotary motion. When the arms rotate down, they will lift the bug up and drag it to move a small distance (around 1mm). By repeating the arms movement the bug can slowly move forward or backward.
The biggest difference between of a usual size robot and micro robot is they are made by different material. Usually robot is made by steel or aluminum. While for micro robot they are usually made by silicon. The main reason is in micro world it is difficult to some assembly process such like pick and place. It require extremely accurate machine. By using those developed IC manufacturing technologies for silicon process, robots parts can be easily made on silicon wafer. Scientists have invented some clever ways like micro stopper, micro lock, and micro welding for parts assembly on silicon wafer. So silicon is the dominant material in today's micro machining.
The other main difference is the motion of actuator. In usual size robot, the actuator is electromagnetic motor. While in micro robot, the actuator is usually electrostatic motor. Electromagnetic motor provide rotary motion while electrostatic motor provide linear motion. Since it is difficult to fabricate electromagnetic motor in micro and nano scale, electrostatic motor is more widely used.
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