Teleoperated 3‐DOF micromanipulation system with force feedback capability: design and experiments

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a design and verification through experiments of teleoperation of the 3 degrees‐of‐freedom micromanipulation system (MMS), in laboratory conditions. Design/methodology/approach – The MMS is constructed from piezoelectric actuators sited in a flexure hinge mechanism. The nonlinearity, especially hysteresis, due to a voltage steering scheme is compensated for, via a second‐order Dahl friction model. A simple mechanical model is then constructed to capture the behavior of the MMS. Redundant force feedback sensors are applied to the MMS in order to achieve flexible operation via the so‐called fault‐tolerancing mechanism. Finally, a teleoperation scheme based on passivity formalism is proposed to achieve a stable teleoperation system. Findings – The hysteresis curve due to voltage steering can be minimized. The fault‐tolerancing concept using redundant sensors for comfortable use of the MMS has been successfully performed. The teleoperated MMS via a commercially available PHANToM ® has been conducted under ineligible telecommunication channel delay. Originality/value – The details of design, modelling and experimentations of the teleoperation of the MMS should promote the applicability of similar systems in the future.