fig1 depicts a surgical microscope 5 with stand 1 according to the existing art , standing on floor 10 . stand 1 has a movable pantograph arm 2 for unrestricted positioning in space , at whose free end is arranged an x / y adjustment system 3 for controlled precision orientation by the observer . microscope 5 , including main objective 6 and a tube with eyepiece 4 for user &# 39 ; s eye 9 , is mounted here by means of a support arm 7 . a motor with sensors 8 for vibration compensation is located directly in the region of main objective 6 , where it acts on the later as adjusting element . motor with sensors 8 can also , according to the existing art , be mounted between pantograph arm 2 and support arm 7 , or between support arm 7 and microscope 5 ( not depicted in fig1 ). fig2 depicts a surgical microscope 5 with stand 1 according to the present invention , standing on floor 10 . stand 1 has a movable pantograph arm 2 for unrestricted positioning in space , at whose end is arranged an x / y adjustment system 3 for controlled precision orientation by the observer . here , however , an ares component 71 which carries microscope 5 including main objective 6 and tube with eyepiece 4 is provided in place of support arm 7 as shown in fig1 . another ares component 71 is arranged inside microscope 5 to support main objective 6 . ares components are described in the article by e . j . breitbach et al ., “ adaptive structures — concepts and prospects ” of the institute of aeroelasticity and the institute of structural mechanics of the german aerospace research establishment ( dlr ), pages 3 - 8 ( publication date unknown ). an ares component is a self - regulating component that , on the basis of a measurement of vibrations , activates integrated drive elements in such a way that they counteract the vibration in real time so that the vibration does not result in a positional change in the external contours or critical interfaces of the constituent part . acceleration sensors in or in the vicinity of the ares component itself measure those vibrations and compensate for them directly by way of a variation of the ares component in the xyz directions , so that according to the present invention , the entire microscope is steady in all three dimensions relative to the observer or relative to the room . a further advantage of the invention is constituted by a reduction in the number of constituent parts , provided the ares components directly replace the support arm , i . e . serve simultaneously as a supporting element and not only as a vibration - compensating element . bulky and heavy motors with sensors in the region of the microscope , or additional optical compensation elements , are thus eliminated , together with the visual impediments resulting therefrom . for purposes of the disclosure of this application , reference is made to the content of the aforementioned article by breitbach et al ., which is incorporated herein by reference . an ever - ncreasing number of candidate materials and material systems for adaptive structure sensors and actuators exist , for example : piezopolymers , e . g . pvdf piezoceramics , e . g . pzt electrostrictive ceramics magnetostrictive rare earth alloys shape memory alloys , e . g . niti shape memory polymers electro - theological fluids magneto - rheological fluids glass fiber sensors magnetic fluids bi - metal combinations , in order to be able to effectively design , evaluate , and select adaptive structures before their construction , in any particular application it is necessary to precisely understand their static and dynamic mechanical behavior . for this purpose , methods for the analysis and optimization of adaptive structures must be developed . the main technical objectives for the design of adaptive structures are outlined as follows : the development of constitutive equations of available materials and their implementation into software codes , e . g . finite element codes . it is emphasized that the constitutive equations of all the smart materials under consideration have to take into account coupling effects , for example , a thermo - mechanical coupling in the case of shape memory alloys . based on the above - mentioned constitutive equations , the development of mathematical models of multifunctional actuators and sensors , e . g . finite elements for plates and shells with piezo - electric polymers bonded to the surface or beam and truss elements for composite structures with embedded shape memory alloy wires . these advanced finite elements are necessary , for instance , for the discretization of the space structure shown on the cover . the finite shell elements are used for the active parts of the antenna structure , the truss elements for the multifunctional struts . the development of algorithms that describe multifunctional components in order to optimize smart structures with regard to sensor and actuator positions . typically , the optimization algorithm must produce the best structural configuration , balancing the conflicting aspects of different objectives . the integration of the control concept into the mathematical model to allow precise evaluation of adaptive structures . recent developments of high - speed processors have made it possible to ran controllers under real - time conditions , resulting in a decisive step towards the breakthrough of adaptive structures . the main goals for controllers in adaptive structures applications are to process the signals from the multifunctional sensors and generate the optimal driving signals for the multifunctional actuators . adaptive structures are systems that may vary with time in the face of changing nonstationary environments or system requirements . in situations where structural system parameters are variable or not accurately known , adaptive or self - optimizing controllers must be used . these controllers are able to adapt their behavior and performance to their environment according to the desired criterion . adaptive control systems based on advanced concepts of digital signal processing are considered the best possible means to solve the control requirements of adaptive structures . such controllers consist of different digital filter systems combined with corresponding adaptation algorithms . the property of structural conformity can be achieved by considering an a priori knowledge of the structure when choosing the controller filter type . this development step is quite similar to that of the new on - line system identification method use adaptive mx filters . by using such control concepts , the knowledge of the optimized actuator and sensor locations from the finite element analysis can be effectively considered . a typical adaptive space structures approach is illustrated on the cover page — a generic truss structure . such systems are generally affected by static distortions and transient vibrations . both effects can be compensated by using built - in active multifunctional struts , keeping the supported load ( microscope 5 ) in the correct position . further embodiments of the invention are described in fig2 and 3 and in the dependent claims . the microscope or stand uses for vibration compensation one ares component preferably at a potential point of occurrence of vibration antinodes , or several ares components at different points . an ares component can be arranged either as a supporting element itself in place of a supporting element in order to decouple the microscope vibrationally from the rest of the stand , i . e . between the stand and microscope ; or inside the microscope for direct decoupling of the main objective . the ares component can be activated not only for vibration compensation , but also nonvibrationally for positional stabilization . an ares component can be powered piezoelectrically and can thus function , if applicable , independently of ordinary electrical circuits . in this context , piezoelectric crystals are stimulated by the geometrical change to generate voltage , that voltage being used to stimulate other piezoactuators for counter - control . these embodiments can also refer to surgical microscopes or surgical stereomicroscopes . the invention will be explained further , in symbolic and exemplary fashion , with reference to schematic figures . fig3 depicts an example of an ares component 71 , which has a three - dimensional truss structure and , in the context of the microscope according to the present invention , replaces ( and thus makes superfluous ) support arm 7 as well as the functionality of motor with sensors 8 of the microscope described in fig1 .