Modelling and robust position/force control of a piezoelectric microgripper

This paper deals with the control of a piezoelectric microgripper based on two piezocantilevers. To avoid the destruction of the manipulated micro-object and to permit a high accurate positioning, the microgripper is controlled on position and on force. Each piezocantilever is separately modelled and controlled: while the one is controlled on position, the second is controlled on force. Because the models are subjected to uncertainties and the micromanipulation requires good performances, a H-infinity robust controller is designed for each system. The experiments end the paper and show that good performances are obtained.