research interests
- Control Theory: nonlinear control, bilateral control (teleoperation), automation
- (Micro/Nano) Robotics: micro/nano manipulation, atomic force microscopy
- Image Processing: Machine vision, visual servoing

research projects
Automated 2-D manipulation of micro/nanoparticles:
To develop a robotic manipulation system that can autonomously construct complex micro and nano-structures from simple micro and nano-components. To develop a large-scale assembly system to mass-assemble micro and nano-devices.
 Teleoperated Micro/Nanomanipulation:
To develop a human-machine interface for atomic force microscope (AFM) based nano-scale manipulation. A haptic device lets the user control the position of the AFM-probe and relays measured forces to his fingertip. The user experiences the surface topography, surface interactions, and probe positions in a realtime computer graphics environment.

publications

Book Chapters
- C. D. Onal, O. Ozcan, and M. Sitti, "Atomic Force Microscopy based Nanomanipulation Systems,"in Handbook of Nanophysics , in press, 2009.
- A. Sabanovic, K. Abidi, and C. D. Onal, "Sliding Mode Control Application to Nano Positioners," i n Advances in Variable Structure and Sliding Mode Control Series: Lecture Notes in Control and Information Sciences ,  334, 2006. (available online)

Journal Publications
- C. D. Onal and M. Sitti, "Teleoperated Three-Dimensional Force Feedback from the Nanoscale with an Atomic Force Microscope,"IEEE Transactions on Nanotechnology , in press, 2009.
- F. Krohs, C. D. Onal, M. Sitti, and S. Fatikow, "A Probabilistic Approach to Drift Compensation towards Autonomous Nanomanipulation using an Atomic Force Microscope," Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control , in press, 2009.
 - C. D. Onal and M. Sitti, "A Scaled Bilateral Control System for Experimental One-Dimensional Teleoperated Nanomanipulation," International Journal of Robotics Research , Vol. 28, No, 4, pp. 484-497, 2009. (available online)
- C. D. Onal, B. Sumer, and M. Sitti, "Cross-talk Compensation in Atomic Force Microscopy," Review of Scientific Instruments , Vol. 79-10 pp. 103706(1-7), October 2008. (available online)
- N. A. Lynch, C. D. Onal, E. Schuster, and M. Sitti, "Vision-based feedback strategy for controlled pushing of microparticles," Journal of Micro/Nano-Mechatronics , 2008. (available online)
- C. D. Onal and M. Sitti, "Visual Servoing Based Autonomous 2D Manipulation of Microparticles using a Nanoprobe," IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology , Vol. 15-5, pp. 842-852, 2007. (available online)
- A. Sabanovic, N. Sabanovic, and C. D. Onal, "Sliding Modes in Motion Control Systems," Automatika 46 (1-2), pp. 17-27, 2005. (available online)