Design of a 3D Vision-based Micro-Force Sensing Probe

This paper presents a vision-based micro-force sensing probe that is capable of µN level force sensing in three dimensions. The sensor is mounted on a standard micromanipulation probe and can be easily integrated into many systems. Furthermore, it is cheap, reliable, and can be specifically tailored for a desired application. Tests were conducted to demonstrate the accuracy of the system. It is capable of achieving sub-µN force resolution, with a range of 175 µN and an accuracy in the x, y, and z directions of 3.63%,0.58%, and 0.61%, respectively. Two case studies using the vision-based micro-force sensing probe were performed to demonstrate the efficacy of the system.