Fabrication and optical manipulation of micro-robots for biomedical applications

Optical manipulation is a technology that enables accurate manipu-lation of micro-robots in fluidic environment. Optical micro-robots, which can be used as micro-tools to perform indirect micro-objects manipulation via optical tweezers (OT), have been employed for various biomedical applications. Supported by the latest advances in three-dimensional (3D) micro-fabrication, micro-robots with so-phisticated structures can be created with good reproducibility and yield, further expanding the use of OT for manipulating micro -robots. In this review, emerging concepts and recent progress of al-lied techniques (e.g., micro-fabrication and materials), as well as the general trend of optical micro-robots, are introduced. Technically, the paper also covers visual perception and manipulation of micro -robots with OT. We further highlight open research challenges and future research directions.