A tapping micropositioning cell

Describes the use of tapping actuators in a “micropositioning cell.” Tapping actuators are fixed (both in position and orientation) about the perimeter of the cell. A part in the cell can be precisely positioned by firing a sequence of tapping actuators (sensing the position of the object after each tap for feedback control). Such a system could be used for micropositioning tasks or in parts feeding applications. We show the controllability of this system for circular parts, describe an algorithm to position these objects, and present the results of simulated experiments. We conclude with some future directions and address the issues in extending this work to more efficient algorithms that work on a broader class of parts