This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project proposes the development of a mini-manipulator -- "Artificial Hand with Internal Visual Feedback" -- for a wide range of robotic manipulations on the miniscale. Evolving from initial studies at UCLA, this device will be comprised of a four-finger pneumatically controlled manipulator that will be coupled with an imaging system. The use of silicon micromachining to fabricate multiple phalanges per finger, a fiber optic imaging and illuminating bundle, and micro optics will allow the entire device to fit into a two-millimeter diameter tube. This device, which will enable the precise handling of very small samples and provide immediate visual feedback to a human operator, will be an alternative to the robotic hands that provide only tactile feedback.
There will be numerous opportunities to integrate the proposed mini-manipulator technology into industrial, and particularly medical, applications. A millimeter-sized, highly flexible, water/blood compatible, manipulation instrument with built-in visualization capabilities would be extremely valuable in microsurgical procedures. Such an instrument would find immediate use in gastric, ear-nose-throat, and particularly intravascular environments. The repair and inspection of small-scale mechanical and electrical assemblies, and the retrieval of fine parts, would also benefit from the "eye-in-the hand" capabilities of the proposed device.
