Robotic micromanipulation: a) actuators and their application

Development of biotechnology and technologies related to small size object position and placement in working area, ensuring desired orientation and fitting during movement into prescribed positions. Paper provides an effort to classify and provide a sorted list of applications in the variety of existing robotic systems to manipulate the object of micrometric size. Extensive development of robotic systems fosters intensive request of accurate and fast drives for robots and manipulators. Paper overviews and specifies a broad spectrum of micrometric scale drives, operating under certain physical effects. These drives are analyzed according to their physical domain, movement mode, stroke or angle range, generated force, speed of movement and other essential drive parameters. The paper concludes a high potential of drives development and points direction to future their application possibilities in microrobotics.