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Updated: Feb 13, 2026

Free-form Light Actuators — Fabrication and Control of Actuation in Microscopic Scale
Published on: May 25, 2016
Development of a Meso-Scale Fiberoptic Rotation Sensor for a Torsion Actuator
1Medical Robotics and Automation (RoboMed) Laboratory in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.
Abstract:
This paper presents the development of a meso-scale fiberoptic rotation sensor for a shape memory alloy (SMA) torsion actuator for neurosurgical applications. Within the sensor, a rotary head with a reflecting surface is capable of modulating the light intensity collected by optical fibers when the rotary head is coupled to the torsion actuator. The mechanism of light intensity modulation is modeled, followed by experimental model verification. Meanwhile, working performances for different rotary head designs, optical fibers, and fabrication materials are compared. After the calibration of the fiberoptic rotation sensor, the sensor is capable of precisely measuring rotary motion and controlling the SMA torsion actuator with feedback control.
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