On using flexure-hinge five-bar linkages to develop novel walking mechanisms and small-scale grippers for microrobots

This paper presents the micromotion analysis of five-bar linkages and demonstrates the approximate linearity of motion transmission of five-bar mechanisms within a micromotion range. A novel walking mechanism used for a microrobot and a small-scale gripper with a high transmission ratio are introduced, based on the flexure-hinge five-bar mechanism analysis. Results of numerical simulation show the validity of design and analysis on the introduced mechanisms and the feasibility of corresponding thoughts. The presented micromotion-based robot mechanisms are devoid of friction and fitting errors, and particularly suitable for microrobot applications. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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