Real-Time motion control software for a micromanipulator

This paper will present a motion control software for 8 micromanipulator named MANiPEN. This manipulator has been developed for biomedical applications that require manipulation of biological cells. With the software. a human useris ablc to pcrform frcehand motion control of the manipulator. In addition, it is possible to execute semiautomatic procedures that cxeeute 8 mieroinjeetion of substances into a cell and an aspiration of a cell into the capillary of the micromanipulator. Highprecision requirements of the micromanipulator cause strict requirements for the software. A key issue is the determinism of timing of control operations. Therefore. the software has been implemented on top of a real-time Linux operating system executing in a stardard PC.