Magnetically guided surgery

group. Thanks to these features, the highest possible synchronization between axes and I/O can be reached, which is required for high-speed semiconductor machines. I/O modules extend the architecture to all types of sensors and actuators in the machine, which are linked through the bus. The IEEE 1394 bus enables vision components to be integrated and synchronized with motion components, forming an integrated machine control system. With a camera in the loop, vision corrections can be made to enhance machine output. In some cases, a position loop can be closed based on camera feedback rather than encoders. Extensions to three-dimensional position feedback are currently under development. One of the main features of the architecture is the data collection ability of the synchronous, high-bandwidth IEEE 1394 network. Setpoints, digital inputs and outputs, and software events can be collected synchronously from all axes without degrading real-time performance. These features enable the development time for complex, highly synchronized machines to be shortened significantly.