A high precision Micro-CMM (Coordinate measuring machine) is under development at the School of Instrument, Hefei University of Technology, in collaboration with National Taiwan University. The expected measuring range is 25 x 25 x 10 mm and the resolution is about 10 nm. For the enhancement of machine accuracy, some new design concepts are introduced, such as the arch-bridge and the co-planar ...

In this paper, we describe how motile microorganisms can be integrated with engineered microstructures to develop a micro-bio-robotic system. SU-8 microstructures blotted with swarmer cells of Serratia Marcescens in a monolayer are propelled by the bacteria in the absence of any environmental stimulus. We call such microstructures with bacteria MicroBioRobots (MBRs) and the uncontrolled motion ...

Gyroscopes are used as rotation rate sensors. Conventional gyroscopes are heavy and bulky, which creates important problems regarding their usage in different applications. Micro-gyroscopes have solved these problems due to their small size. The beam micro-gyroscope is one of the popular types of inertial sensors. Their small dimensions and low energy consumption are key reasons for their popul...

This paper aims to evaluate the impact of a microlending program on ameliorating measured poverty within its client population, with the aim of improving that impact. We analyze over 18,000 women micro-finance clients of the Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation (NWTF), a database using the Progress out of Poverty (PPI) Scorecard as a measure of poverty. Analysis using both OLS and quantile mult...

Model-based design constructs physical systems in two stages. First, a ea~al friction network (CRN) of quantities that entails the desired behavior is constructed from a domain model. Second, a physical system is designed by assembling components such that all the causal relations specified by the CRN are imposed. The Compositional Model-based Design method, CMD, simplifies the design of comple...

Here we present the control, performance and modeling of an untethered electromagnetically actuated magnetic micro-robot. The microrobot, which is composed of neodymium–iron–boron with dimensions 250 m 130 m 10 m, is actuated by a system of six macroscale electromagnets. Periodically varying magnetic fields are used to impose magnetic torques, which induce stick–slip motion in the micro-robot. ...

Bivariate probit analysis was used to assess the efficacy of a South African microlender’s loan screening process. This micro-lender grants short-term cash loans to individuals who are employed and earning a fixed salary. Loan applicants with more stable incomes, who are contactable via telephone or post, who are employed in less risky business sectors, who have more disposable income relative ...

Needs for model reduction in microsystem technology (MST) are described from an engineering perspective. The MST model reduction benchmarks are presented in order to facilitate further development in this area. The first benchmark application is electro-thermal simulation and the second one is an electrostatically actuated beam. Model reduction is contrasted with compact modeling, which current...

The goal of this paper is to explore and describe the potential of multilingual acoustic models for automatic speech recognition of the languages spoken in Morocco. The basic experimental framework comes from the OrienTel project, mainly the sound inventory of the Arabic languages and the speech databases. Monolingual and multilingual automatic speech recognition systems for Modern Colloquial a...

This abstract outlines current developments of a micro-assembly facility focusing on studies using a three fingered gripper. Individual fingers of the gripper comprise thin fibers ranging in diameter from 7 to 80 μm that are attached to quartz based oscillators and are capable of sensing proximity, contact, and controlling adhesion forces. To optimize gripper finger performance, an electrolytic...