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Highlights and key figuresSee project VAS page.Costs and funding (live figure)
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Close collaboratorsDilson Rassier (McGill University, Dep. of Physiology) - tester of prototypes and new products. Philippe Comtois (Montreal Heart Institute) - tester and co-developer of prototypes and new products. Dr. P.H. Grutter from McGill University, Department of Physics - tester of prototypes and new products. The Projectplease help develop this section...Background
Frederic C. built on Jonathan's work and created the first fully functional piezo driver prototype using an APEX amplifier (see announcement and report. The problem with this design was manufacturing reliability: the APEX amplifier is very sensitive to manipulation.
We decided to try a different design. Antonio created the first working piezo driver prototype, capable to drive two axis, using parts identified by Jonathan. Antonio's piezo driver
The new modular piezo driver made by Antonio was installed in Dilson's lab at McGill University (Department of Physiology) for testing.
The electronic design of the first prototype was improved by Antonio and Jonathan.
The mechanical design of the actuator was improved by Daniel.
Antonio designed and prototyped the 3-axis Mantis, controlled with the 3-axis driver.
A new generation of long range piezo actuators was designed by Antonio.
Presentation of the product and example applicationsThere are two main lines of products that address two different markets: the high-end and the low-end manipulators. The high-end line is marketed as scientific instruments to research labs. The low-end line is low cost and is dedicated to OSHW communities.
The product contains two main components:
Multiple piezo actuators can be assembled together into a system capable of xyz motion. In the picture below, a piezo stack, capable on 1 axis motion is assembled with a piezo tube, capable of 2 axis motion, using 3D printed adapters. This model was designed to hold a Mosquito transducer. 3D design made by Daniel  Immediate application Example of use - the piezo is holding a micro needle used in experiments on muscle physiology at McGill University. The experiment is setup ontop of an inverted microscope. The muscle cells are placed into a physiological bath, in physiological medium, in the field of view of the microscope. The piezo helps the researcher to position the microneedle with very high precision within the bath, inorder to manipulate tiny muscle cells. 
Customer needs and Product SpecificationsSee Fernando's analysis for the high-end Manipulators.Need the same analysis for the open source version. SWOT analysis(strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats)please help develop this section...
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Factors affecting demandplease help develop this section...Trends and market developmentsplease help develop this section... Feedback on MPM - S1Francois, Mathieu and Antonio presented the MPM - S1 in different labs in Montreal. Their conclusion is that it needs esthetic improvements and enhanced performance, with 3 channels DAQ and a microcontroller. Targeted customers in this segments are researchers, professors and medical researchers. They work in universities, research institutes and university hospitals. Buying behavior Some of us have been buyers, working in academic research labs. We know the purchasing behavior of researchers. They often want the best quality and better services at any cost, buying peace of mind. They are therefore very committed to the reputation of a brand and tend to remain loyal. The high switching costs also encourage them to be loyal. They are also heavily influenced by leaders of opinion (that is to say, the most renowned researchers in their field) and can even switch brands to buy the same equipment as they use. They are primarily motivated by productivity gains offered by our Mantis, which will accelerate their research in order to publish more, and thus to increase their chances of being funded. They are also concerned by the versatility offered by the Mantis, which allows them to push their experiments further than with other available devices (measuring a broader spectrum of contraction force, from a single cell to a small piece or tissue). In Canada, the number of university research labs in biology (biology and biomedical research) is estimated at 10,250, from a total of 25,000 research labs. Of these 10,250 laboratories, 5% are physiology labs, which gives about 500 labs across the country. These 500 laboratories are our Canadian market segment, plus a portion of 10,250 biology labs that perform physiological experiments. Only 1% of 10,250 labs represents 100 additional potential customers, bringing the total to about 600 Canadian labs.
Globally, the number of physiology laboratories is estimated at 15,000. What is the value of the potential market?The Canadian public research budget in physiology and biophysics was estimated at $380 million in 2010. We can safely estimate that 10% of this budget is spent on purchases of lab equipment, which is is $38M. This represents the size of the Canadian market in physiology research. In all, and given the part of Canadian research in the world (3% in 2010), the world market segment for research instruments in physiology is estimated at $ 1.3 billion.
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Characteristics of the direct competition
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Second market segmentThey can take risk, prefer lower costs, like modularity and interoperability, can repair if it brakes. Perfect market for testing alpha and beta. In Montreal In Quebec In Canada In North America please help develop this section... What is the value of the potential market?please help develop this section... please help develop this section... Details on first customers/testersplease help develop this section... please help develop this section... please help develop this section... Characteristics of the direct competition
please help develop this section... please help develop this section... Outreach/marketing planFor first market segmentBased on feedback provided by Francois, who did some demos of the MPM - S1, we need to improve the outreach
Social mediaDistribution pointsFor second market segmentUse social media to reach open source communities that need low-cost manipulators. please help develop this section... Social mediaplease help develop this section... Distribution points
Budget for sales and marketingplease help develop this section...
Operationsplease help develop this section...
Manufacturing
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