Fiber-optic sensors and actuators for environmental recognition devices

When a micromachine works inside a narrow space inside tubes and equipment such as a microfactory, a microdevice that has a visual function is indispe nsable. To monitor the minute shapes of microfabrication and microassembly process that are impossible to observe, fiber-optic sensors and actuators f or environmental recognition devices have been developed. The devices are d esigned to allow stereoscopic and microscopic observation and to measure th e dimensions of microparts. To achieve these goals and to realize minute st ructures and functions, we developed environmental recognition devices for microfabrication process with functions of far and near field observation, tactile sensing and tip articulation, for microassembly process with functi ons of stereoscopic observation and tip articulation. The results show that easy and safe environmental recognition is possible in the narrow spaces o f a microfactory.