# Soft Micromanipulation Robot for Real‐Time Adaptive Multimodal Operation

## TL;DR

A soft micromanipulation robot is developed for precise, full-angle biomedical operations, enabling delicate tasks like cell handling and microsurgery.

## Contribution

The robot introduces a bio-inspired, hollow multi-notch agonist-antagonist mechanism for omnidirectional, micrometer-precision manipulation.

## Key findings

- The SMR achieves 14 µm positioning accuracy and supports multimodal operations like aspiration and microinjection.
- It successfully assembled human kidney cell spheres on biochips for co-culture models in drug development.
- The design adapts to limited workspaces and sensitive biosamples, enabling in vitro modeling and microscale surgery.

## Abstract

Micromanipulation robots hold immense promise for biomedical applications, yet they remain fundamentally limited by three persistent challenges: cross‐scale target heterogeneity, spatially constrained workspaces, and integrated multimodal operation requirements. Here, a soft micromanipulation robot (SMR) capable of omnidirectional, micrometer‐precision manipulation via a hollow multi‐notch agonist‐antagonist mechanism is presented. Combining ± 180° bending and 360° rotation for full‐angle operation, this bio‐inspired design achieves 14 µm positioning accuracy, enabling reliable handling of single‐cell‐sized objects. The SMR adapts in situ to sensitive biosamples and limited workspaces, supporting diverse manipulation modes including aspiration, transfer, programmable assembly, targeted microinjection, and localized cutting of biospecimens. To evaluate biomedical applicability, an assembly experiment with human kidney cell spheres, which is essential for establishing co‐culture models in new drug development is designed. The SMR successfully aspirated, transferred, and precisely positioned multiple assembloids onto ring‐shaped biochips, achieving programmable assembly within limited workspaces. The SMR has the potential to be a flexible and adaptable platform for performing delicate operations in various biomedical scenarios, such as in vitro modeling, drug testing, and microscale surgery.

This manuscript proposes a soft micromanipulator robot (SMR) for “full‐angle” precision biomedical operations. Bio‐inspired SMR achieves omnidirectional motion, micrometer precision, and multimodal capabilities including aspiration, transfer, rotation, assembly, injection, and cutting. It adapts to perform diverse operations on biological targets across scales within limited spaces, enabling extensive possibilities for in vitro modeling, drug testing, and microscale surgery applications.