Improvement of Linear Displacement of an Inchworm

Abstract

This paper improves the linear displacement of an inchworm using piezoelectric actuators and electromagnets. The deformation of the piezoelectric actuators and excitation of the electromagnets are synchronized so that the inchworm can move. Since the inchworm does not use any guide nor preload, a closed loop feedback position control system is employed. In this paper, the displacement of the inchworm for one control cycle is measured, and the deformation of the piezoelectric actuators is adjusted in order to retain a designed trajectory. The position and angle of the inchworm is compensated by the use of appropriate feedback constants. This method is simple and is applied to camera vision position control system.