MICRO ACTUATOR SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT FOR PROJECTILE GUIDANCE

RESEARCH WORK HAS DEMONSTRATED THE FEASIBILITY OF FABRICATING ELECTROMECHANICAL AND MECHANICAL DEVICES IN THE SUBMILLIMETER SIZE RANGE. ARRAYS OF THESE DEVICES, EACH INDEPENDENTLY ACTUATED AND CONTROLLED, HAVE POTENTIAL IN MANY APPLICATIONS REQUIRING PRECISION SURFACE SHAPING OR POSITIONING. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP MICROACTUATOR SYSTEM USEFUL FOR PROJECTILE FLIGHT CONTROL. ANTICIPATED BENEFITS/POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS - PROJECTILE ACCURACY AND HIT PROBABILITY WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED WITH ACTIVE FLIGHT CONTROL PROVIDED BY THE APPROACH. MEDICAL APPLICATIONS REQUIRING PRECISION MINIATURE INSTRUMENTS, AND PRECISION FABRICATION TECHNIQUES SUCH AS FOR INTEGRATED CIRCUITS WILL BENEFIT FROM MICROACTUATOR ARRAY DEVELOPMENT. KEY WORDS - MICROMACHINE, MICROACTUATOR, GUIDANCE