TRAVELER is a research project whose objective is to:

• manufacture a “deadweight machine” type device capable of generating a small 3-axis force in a vacuum whose adjustable amplitude may be below the 10 µN limit,
• develop conceptual tools capable of making this force traceable to the SI.

The concept of this project is motivated by a simple observation: low force measurements (less than 10 µN) are not traceable to the International System of Units (SI). This means that we do not know how to link the measurements of low forces to the SI through a documented calibration chain, each link of which contributes to the uncertainty of the measurement. As a result, it is impossible to have standards of small strength. It is also impossible to guarantee the calibration of the low force sensors and to assess the accuracy of the small forces which are measured with. This point is problematic for scientific and industrial activities that need reasoned metrological functions to establish, develop and give credibility to activities involving the measurement of small forces (in particular mechanical and biomechanical characterization on small scales).

This project is held together by FEMTO-ST (E Piat emmanuel.piat@ubfc.fr) and ICB (E Lesniewska eric.lesniewska@ubfc.fr)

and is supported by the Bourgogne Franche-Comté region and the National Research Agency (ANR):

One Ph.D student has been recruited for this project.