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The good news is, that modern DLP projectors are sold for a low price. Each of the projectors is equipped with a so called digital micromirror device, which is an MEMS array. It contains millions of pixels, and each of them is realized with two actuators. The actuators are moving physically back and forth and this brings the mirror into the target position which reflects the light.

A movable mirror is the perfect candidate for building a nanorobot, because it was produced already at a low price and doesn't need much energy. Putting two of the actuators together would result into a DIY BEAM robot which can walk forward.

A normal optical microscope can make the servo motor array visible. The problem is, that a manual driven tweezers is too big for handling the tiny motors. What is the appropriate procedure to extract a single micromirror and utilize the MEMS motor in a robot?

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    $\begingroup$ it is quite possible that there is no procedure that has been developed for extracting the actuator $\endgroup$
    – jsotola
    Oct 16, 2019 at 1:38
  • $\begingroup$ A single actuator has the size of 0.01mm width. If a machine exists, which can assembly these devices onto a surface, the opposite machine would be there which can disassemble it. $\endgroup$
    – Manuel Rodriguez
    Oct 16, 2019 at 10:45
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    $\begingroup$ the DLP chip is probably made the same way as a CPU, the device is not assembled from individual mirrors $\endgroup$
    – jsotola
    Oct 16, 2019 at 14:32

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Mankind does not have such a delicate technology to extract 0.01mm fragile structure from a silicon wafer especially when it is sticked with the rest of the parts firmly. Even if you do it somehow using nanometer accuracy etching devices(the same technology used to make a mems structure), you cannot wire signals properly. I guess the reason why people are not doing this is because fabricating a new mems structure is cheaper and easier (relatively).

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