Author(s)

N. Troisfontaine & Ph. Bidaud

Abstract

In this paper an original actuator to command the joints of articulated micro-grippers or micro-manipulators is presented. Its design allows to sat- isfy both force and motion which fit the requirements needed in fine ma- nipulations. Its hybrid structure is the combination of two actuators, one drives the rotation of the joint to obtain at least 90 degrees of rotation and the other one produces the necessary torque for object manipulations, both of them are actuated by shape memory alloy (SMA). 1 Introduction Today the design of dextrous grippers and micro-manipulators for micro- robotic applications constitutes a big challenge. They are a key component in tele-surgery systems ([1],[2],[3],[4]J as well as in robotized assembling systems for small parts ([5],[6]). In these applications, manipulators and grippe

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