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Microparticles are increasingly employed as drug carriers inside the human body. To avoid collision with environment, they reach their destination following a predefined trajectory. However, due to the various disturbances, tracking control of microparticles is stilla challenge. In this work, we propose to use an Adaptive Nonlinear PID (A-NPID) controller for trajectory tracking of microparticles. A-NPID allows the gains to be continuously adjusted to satisfy the performance requirements at different operating conditions. An in-vitro study is conducted to verify the proposed controller where a microparticle of 100μm diameter is put to navigate through an open fluidic reservoir with virtual obstacles. Firstly, a collision-free trajectory is generated using a path-planning algorithm. Secondly, the microparticle dynamic model, when moving under the influence of external forces, is derived, and employed to design the A-NPID control law. The proposed controller successfully allowed the particle to navigate autonomously following the reference collision-free trajectory in presence of varying environmental conditions. Moreover, the particle could reach its targeted position with a minimal steady-state error of 4μm. A degradation in the performance was observed when only a PID controller was used in the absence of adaptive terms. The results have been verified by simulation and experimentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This editorial discusses the advancements in human-like robotic hands for biomedical applications. Robotic hands with tactile or force/torque sensors have been used to assist robots and amputees in interacting with objects and environments. The research topic explores the design and integration of novel solutions for robotic and prosthetic hands, as well as sensing technology. The contributions come from authors and reviewers from various countries and institutions. The editorial provides a brief summary of some of the main contributions, including adaptive actuation mechanisms, compliant sensorized hands, 3D-printed flexures, soft exoskeletons for rehabilitative treatment, and multimodal fusion for prosthetic hand control. The authors hope that this research topic will encourage further collaboration and development in this field. [Extracted from the article]

In the ambit of smart materials, shape memory alloys (SMA) have emerged as a remarkable class of materials capable of undergoing significant shape changes when stimulated by external factors such as mechanical, magnetic, thermal, or electrical forces. Wang and colleagues [[5]] introduce a cost-effective and intelligent battery-free solution for capturing crucial temperature events by leveraging the inherent thermo-mechanical properties of a shape memory alloy (SMA). Mitrev and colleagues [[7]] present a comprehensive investigation, both theoretical and experimental, of a thermo-mechanical model for an actuator comprising a shape memory alloy wire in series with a bias spring. [Extracted from the article]