Force control system for autonomous micro manipulation

A dexterous micro manipulation system was developed for applications such as assembling micro machines, manipulating cells, and micro surgery. We have proposed a concept of a two-fingered micro hand, and designed and built a prototype. We succeeded in performing basic micro manipulations, including the grasp, release, and rotation of a microscopic object. The micro hand is controlled with a position control only. An operator has to guess a micro force on grasping from a behavior of object in a microscope image. The accurate micro manipulation depends on a skill of the operator yet. For an easy manipulation and an automatic manipulation, it is necessary to measure the micro forces between the finger and the object. A micro force sensor has developed for a force control in micro manipulation on a corroboration research of Mechanical Engineering Laboratory and Olympus Optical Cooperation. Its resolution is 0.5 [nN] in theoretically. In this paper, we will mention the micro force sensor and to perform an aut omatic micro manipulation with installing the sensor and a force control. Basic experiment shows excellent micro capability.