• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.125-133
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• 2010

A versatile micro-robotic platform for micro/nano scale assembly has been demanded in a variety of application areas such as micro-biology and nanotechnology. In the near future, a flexible and compact platform could be effectively used in a scanning electron microscope chamber. We are developing a platform that consists of miniature mobile robots and a compact positioning stage with multi degree-of-freedom. This paper presents the design and the implementation of a low-cost and compact multi degree of freedom position sensor that is capable of measuring absolute translational and rotational displacement. The proposed sensor is implemented by using a CMOS type image sensor and a target with specific hole patterns. Experimental design based on statistics was applied to finding optimal design of the target. Efficient algorithms for image processing and absolute position decoding are discussed. Simple calibration to eliminate the influence of inaccuracy of the fabricated target on the measuring performance also presented. The developed sensor was characterized by using a laser interferometer. It can be concluded that the sensor system has submicron resolution and accuracy of ${\pm}4{\mu}m$ over full travel range. The proposed vision-based sensor is cost-effective and used as a compact feedback device for implementation of a micro robotic platform.