New Design of a Compact Parallel Micro-Nano Two-Fingered Manipulator Hand

This paper presents the analysis and design optimization of a new compact and yet economical micro-nano two-fingered manipulator hand. The proposed manipulator hand consists of two series modules; upper and lower module. Each module consists of a parallel kinematics chain with a glass pipette of 3 to 10 cm length as an end effector. It is driven by three piezoelectric actuated prismatic joints in each of the three legs of the kinematics chain. Each leg of the kinematics chain has the structure of prismatic-revolute-socket ball (PRS) joints structure. As the length of the glass pipette end effector is decreased, the resolution and accuracy of the micro-nano manipulator hand is increased. A new solution for the problem of inverse kinematics is obtained. Based on this solution, a simulation program has been developed to optimally choose the design parameters of each module so that the manipulator have a maximum workspace volume. Also the manipulator hand is small in size due to the proposed architecture.