Innovative Production Machines and Systems Conference

This paper presents a general review of the area of nano manufacturing by robots considering current developments and future trends. The paper discusses nano motion and positioning, SPM-based nano vision and manipulation, and nano gripping and 3D handling, which are the main topics of interest in the field. Future trends are described in terms of expected applications of robotised nano manipulation and relevant requirements concerning the functions of robots. These include object-oriented nano manipulation, versatile 3D nano handling, automatic or semi-automatic 3D nano assembly, nano rapid prototyping and rapid tooling, and hybrid nano handling and manufacturing.