Soft electroactive actuators and hard ratchet-wheels enable unidirectional locomotion of hybrid machine
2017
Combining synergistically the muscle-like actuation of soft materials and load-carrying and locomotive capability of hard mechanical components results in hybrid soft machines that can exhibit specific functions. Here, we describe the design, fabrication, modeling and experiment of a hybrid soft machine enabled by marrying unidirectionally actuated dielectric elastomer (DE) membrane-spring system and ratchet wheels. Subjected to an applied voltage 8.2 kV at ramping velocity 820 V/s, the hybrid machine prototype exhibits monotonic uniaxial locomotion with an averaged velocity 0.5mm/s. The underlying physics and working mechanisms of the soft machine are verified and elucidated by finite element simulation.
Keywords:
- Correction
- Source
- Cite
- Save
- Machine Reading By IdeaReader
24
References
3
Citations
NaN
KQI