Affiliation:
1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117575 e-mail:
2. School of Mechanical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China e-mail:
Abstract
Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) exhibit interesting muscle-like attributes including large voltage-induced deformation and high energy density, thus can function as artificial muscles for soft robots/devices. This paper focuses on soft planar DEAs, which have extensive applications such as artificial muscles for jaw movement, stretchers for cell mechanotransduction, and vibration shakers for tactile feedback, etc. Specifically, we develop a soft planar DEA, in which compression springs are employed to make the entire structure freestanding. This soft freestanding actuator can achieve both linear actuation and turning without increasing the size, weight, or structural complexity, which makes the actuator suitable for driving a soft crawling robot. Furthermore, its simple structure and homogeneous deformation allow for analytic modeling, which can be used to interpret the large voltage-induced deformation and interesting mechanics phenomenon (i.e., wrinkling and electromechanical instability). A preliminary demonstration showcases that this soft planar actuator can be employed as an artificial muscle to drive a soft crawling robot.
Funder
Ministry of Education - Singapore
Subject
Mechanical Engineering,Mechanics of Materials,Condensed Matter Physics
Cited by
17 articles.
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