to Achievement of the project |
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| to Achievement of the project |
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| ◆ Objectives of the Project | |
| As part of an Industrial Science and Technology Frontier Program, MITI's
Agency of Industrial Science and Technology inaugurated in fiscal 1991
a ten-year project having a budget of 25 billion yen and encompassing shared
basic technologies, enhanced functional device technologies and systematization
technologies for micromachines that work in highly restricted areas, for
example, the inspection/repair of tube banks in power plants and diagnosis/treatment
within the human body, and the miniaturization of manufacturing equipment.
The Micromachine Center has been commissioned by the New Energy and Technology
Development Organization (NEDO) to conduct R&D operations related to
this project. |
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| ◆ Feature of Research and Development Activities We conducted the following R&D activities: |
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| (1) Research and development on advanced maintenance technologies for power
plants |
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| (2) Research and development on microfactory technologies |
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| (3) Research and development on micromachine technologies for medical applications
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(1) Research and development on advanced maintenance technologies for power plants |
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| Research, development, and general investigative work has been advanced
in relation to: an experimental system for internal tube inspection, in which a wireless micromachine moves through the interior of a tube under its own power and transmits information relating to blockage and other situations encountered within the tube; an experimental system for exterior inspection of heat exchange tube banks, in which multiple micromachines travel through the narrow spaces between the tubes, couple and uncouple among themselves to match the shape of the object to be inspected, and perform inspections; an experimental system for performing tasks in narrow complex areas, in which a micromachine is inserted through an inspection port to perform interior inspection and repair work; technologies for the enhancement of functional devices; and shared basic technologies. |
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Advanced Maintenance System for Power Plant |
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(3) Research and development on micromachine technologies for medical applications |
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| Toward the eventual objective of developing elemental technologies necessary
for the realization of micromachine systems for treatment and diagnosis
within body cavities, we researched technologies for cerebrovascular diagnostic
and treatment systems. We also conducted research, development, and general
investigative work on: micro tactile sensing technologies for use in monitoring
contact pressure during catheter or balloon operation; laser diagnostic
and treatment technologies for (a) differentiation of normal and diseased
tissue and (b) laser irradiation of the afflicted area; and other technologies. |
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◆ Framework of Micromachine Technology Project |
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