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IWMF 2002 Held in the U.S.A.
the ISTF Program. The mini-factory is configured ofhandling modules arranged around a conveying plate. For
conveying, a two-dimensional planar motor with a wire isused for power supply. However, the positioning precision
is ± 20 µm, which is equivalent to that in the micro-factoryof the ISTF Program using a stopper, and a precision of
200 nm is achieved when using a magnetic sensor. Each
module is provided with a controller using distributed
JAVA, which is advantageous for its suitability in an
Internet environment through the use of Ethernet.
Designing tools have been developed for designing thesystem. Research is currently being conducted on asystem using a micro fluidic injection module. There is aplan to develop a system for assembling laser diodes ofdifferent specifications by 2004.
As a new venture, France's Laboratoire d'Automatiquede Besançon is researching a proposed concept on plugand-play devices called microrobots on chip. While theresearch is aimed at developing an inexpensive highresolution device that is compact and can be used
immediately, research to date has focused on mounting a
two degrees-of-freedom gripper on a SmartCard Reader
and verifying its functions. The laboratory is also studying
a linking construction for accurately positioning an endeffector. Manipulation by sensors is apparently not
performed in order to protect the object being
manipulated.
At this workshop, there were a lot of presentations on
measurement and evaluation technology in particular,such as a study on capturing the shape of objects based on
CAD data and methods for taking wide images using
multiple cameras.
The 4 th IWMF has been scheduled for Shanghai in
September 2004.

The 3 rd International Workshop on Microfactories(IWMF) was held at the University of Minnesota,Minneapolis, through the joint sponsorship of Carnegie
Mellon University and the University of Minnesota, forthree days, September 16 through 18, 2002,.
The former Mechanical Engineering Laboratory of theAgency of Industrial Science and Technology took theinitiative to hold the 1st IWMF in December 1998. InOctober 2000, the 2nd IWMF was held in Switzerland.
The program at this year's workshop included thefollowing sessions: (1) System Architectures for
Microfactories, (2) Micro Assembly Systems, (3) MicroAssembly Techniques, (4) Micro Fabrication, (5) MicroFluidic Systems, (6) Micro Actuation and Sensing, and (7)Toward Nanofactories.
The breakdown in number of presentations given perregion had America with 8, Europe 9, Japan 5, and otherregions 2. Fifteen presentations were given in the poster
session.
The Japan side featured a presentation by Takayuki
Hirano, Executive Director of the Micromachine Center,entitled "Micromachine Technology Trends in
Microfactories," which covered the results of METI'sIndustrial Science and Technology Frontier (ISTF)
Program, the fusing of micromachines withnanotechnology, and the like. In addition, the National
Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
presented several research findings.
Here, we will summarize some of the more memorable
parts of the presentations.
The Fraunhofer-Institute for Manufacturing
Engineering and Automation, (IPA Department for New
Applications) announced research findings on a "minifactory," similar to the micro-factory concept developed in5