Multi-Dof Dynamic NanoRobotics Inside Electron Microscopes – DyNaBot

Electron Microscopes (EMs) are widespread in a wide range of applications due to their unique and powerful visualization capabilities. Several key technologies have recently emerged that allow for (1) local additive/substrative fabrication by ion beams at the sub-micrometer scale (2) 3D and dynamic motion by nanopositioning robots inside these EMs. These technologies are particularly promising for nanodevice fabrication or multimodal characterization at the ultimate scale, but historical approaches are based on a planar and quasi-static approach that considerably limit reproducibility, speed, automation capabilities, and the consideration of local effects, which are nevertheless predominant, and often induce irreversible damages to the studied sample or the fabricated device.

In this context, DyNaBot will study in depth the paradigm of safe nanorobotic motions generation in EMs to bring them dynamic and three-dimensional capabilities. This approach, which is disruptive at this scale, aims at revolutionizing the capabilities of EMs by transforming them into nanofactories allowing each user to perform complex manufacturing (additive, substractive), manipulation, assembly and robotic characterization tasks at the sub-micrometer scale. To this end, the project aims to go beyond the state of the art by proposing a compact and agile robotic structure capable of dynamically controlling the physical interactions between the robot and the object in the highly variable environment of EMs. A digital twin integrating the multiphysical dynamic model of the platform and strongly contributing to the observation of weak signals will allow an intuitive use centered on human expertise.
The project is organized in 4 technical Work Packages (WP), a management WP and a diffusion and valorization WP, to manage a scientific program of 4 main axes: (1) the study of generating robotic movements at the nanometric scale leading to the proposal of an original nanorobotic architecture capable of bringing important mobilities around a point of interest with a nanometric precision (2) the study of contacts between the robot and its environment leading to the proposal of an active sensor capable of controlling these interactions dynamically within an EM (3) the study and the proposal of a digital twin allowing to generate fast movements of nanometric precision via an intuitive environment and capable of a three-dimensional dynamic representation taking into account local effects in spite of poor and slow measurement signals (4) the development of 2 demonstrators representative of typical scientific and industrial applications aiming at demonstrating the impact and the exceptional potential of the approach proposed in DyNaBot: the first one consists in establishing the characterization of dynamic three-dimensional biophysical properties of hydrated samples, the second one consists in realizing the three-dimensional manipulation of flexible nanowires and in realizing a nano-product integrating them by robotized assembly.

To ensure the success of DyNaBot, which offers a state-of-the-art international challenge, FEMTO-ST, ISIR and CEA-List will bring their unique complementary expertise in modeling and control for nanorobotics as well as in human-robot interactions for the industry of the future in relation to nanotechnology.
The economic and societal impacts of DyNaBot are potentially very important, making possible massive, multi-modal and dynamic characterization inside EMs as well as the transformation of EMs into nanofactories allowing the realization in-situ of complete and varied processes for the manufacturing of innovative nanodevices.