Microelectromechanical systems
Some of the oldest uses of compliant structures date back to several millennia. One of the oldest examples is the bow and arrow. Some designs of catapults also made use of the flexibility of the arm to store and release energy to launch the projectile larger distances. Currently, compliant mechanisms are used in a variety of fields such as adaptive structures and biomedical devices. Compliant mechanisms can be used to create self-adaptive mechanisms, commonly used for grasping in robotics. Since robots require high accuracy and have limited range, there has been extensive research in compliant robot mechanisms. Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are one of the main applications of compliant mechanisms. MEMS benefit from the lack of required assembly and simple planar shape of the structure which can be easily manufactured using Photolithography.