Title :
Applications of MEMS to industrial inspection
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Mech. Syst., Mitsubishi Electr. Corp., Hyogo, Japan
Abstract :
The applications of MEMS, micromachines or micro robots, to industrial inspections are investigated. Applications are classified by their uses and forms. The necessity of MEMS is also described. Present research activities regarding maintenance area are surveyed, and a chain-type micromachine for the inspection of outer tube surfaces is introduced as an example. There are still a lot of problems for practical use, however, although there are lots of potential uses. Industrial inspection applications are expected to be one of the promising applications of MEMS followed by optical, RF, and power applications.
Keywords :
inspection; maintenance engineering; micromechanical devices; microrobots; MEMS; chain-type micromachine; industrial inspection; micro robots; micromachines; outer tube surfaces; Chemical industry; Engines; Inspection; Micromechanical devices; Monitoring; Optical surface waves; Optical switches; Radio frequency; Research and development; Roads;
Conference_Titel :
Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, 2001. MEMS 2001. The 14th IEEE International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Interlaken, Switzerland
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-5998-4
DOI :
10.1109/MEMSYS.2001.906510
