Publications related to Sensorless Method with Parameter Identification Applied to a Bistable Fast Linear Switched Reluctance Actuator for Textile Machine

Additively manufactured stretchable zipping electrostatic actuators

The use of soft and stretchable materials allows the development of adaptive robotic systems and human-machine interfaces that are more natural and comfortable to interact with. One of the application fields that benefits the most from these compliant mate ...

EPFL2024

Educational Soft Underwater Robot with an Electromagnetic Actuation

Robert Marius Hennig

As demonstrated by the Soft Robotics Toolkit Platform, compliant robotics pose an exciting educational opportunity. Underwater robotics using soft undulating fins is an expansive research topic with applications such as exploration of underwater life or re ...

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc2024

Inversing the actuation cycle of dielectric elastomer actuators for a facial prosthesis

Paolo Germano, Yves Perriard, Yoan René Cyrille Civet, Alexis Boegli, Thomas Guillaume Martinez, Stefania Maria Aliki Konstantinidi, Quentin Philippe Mario De Menech

Dielectric Elastomer Actuators (DEAs) are a type of smart material described as compliant capacitors. They show impressive performances as soft actuators, such as a high strain and fast response. Nonetheless, replicating natural muscle function with DEAs h ...

Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)2024

Fabrication and Characterization of the Kirigami-Inspired SMA-Powered Actuator

Yves Perriard, Sean Thomas, Guilain Lionel Germain Lang, Thomas Guillaume Martinez, Marjan Ghorbani

This paper presents an innovative approach to creating Shape Memory Alloys (SMA)-based actuators that are lightweight, compact, and capable of providing large strokes. Inspired by the Kirigami structure, an SMA actuator is designed using the Ω -pattern, wh ...

2023

Soft Multimaterial Magnetic Fibers and Textiles

Fabien Sorin, Syrine Mansour, Stella Andréa Françoise Laperrousaz, Chaoqun Dong, Andreas Leber, Hritwick Banerjee, Xue Wan, Rémi Andréa La Polla

Magnetically responsive soft materials are promising building blocks for the next generation of soft robotics, prosthesis, surgical tools, and smart textiles. To date, however, the fabrication of highly integrated magnetic fibers with extreme aspect ratios ...

Wiley-V C H Verlag Gmbh2023

Increasing the Energy Efficiency of Gas Boosters for Hydrogen Storage and for Refueling Stations

Alfred Rufer

A new electrically driven gas booster is described as an alternative to the classical air-driven gas boosters known for their poor energetic efficiency. These boosters are used in small scale Hydrogen storage facilities and in refueling stations for Hydrog ...

MDPI2023

Nanomechanical resonators with low dissipation for quantum optomechanics

Alberto Beccari

Fields of technology as diverse as microwave filter construction, characterization of material interfaces with atomic precision, and detection of gravitational waves from astronomical sources employ mechanical resonators at their core. The utility of mecha ...

EPFL2023

High Permittivity Siloxanes as Promising Materials for Dielectric Elastomer Transducers: From Synthesis to Application

Yauhen Sheima

The speed of change in the modern world is impressive. Within the last 50 years, many devices and technologies have significantly transformed their appearance, intrinsic characteristics and improved their performance. Computers have changed from the size o ...

EPFL2022

Lifetime of dielectric elastomer actuators under DC electric fields

Fabio Beco Albuquerque

Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) are interesting soft actuators compared to other actuation technologies owing to large achievable actuation strains, high energy density and fast actuation. However, because DEAs need to be operated under high electric ...

EPFL2022

Design of adaptive structures through energy minimization: extension to tensegrity

Gennaro Senatore, Yafeng Wang

This paper gives a new formulation to design adaptive structures through total energy optimization (TEO). This methodology enables the design of truss as well as tensegrity configurations that are equipped with linear actuators to counteract the effect of ...

2021

A High Efficiency Pneumatic Drive System Using Vane-Type Semi-Rotary Actuators

Alfred Rufer

A compressed air driven generator is proposed, where the pneumatic energy is converted into mechanical energy using two vane-type rotational actuators. The use of a second actuator with a higher displacement in order to produce a thermodynamic expansion al ...

UNIV NIS2021

Fluid-actuated haptic device and methods for using thereof

Jamie Paik, Zhenishbek Zhakypov

A haptic device is disclosed comprising at least one fluidic actuator operatively connectable with pumping means; and a plurality of movable members mechanically connected with said at least one fluidic actuator, wherein said movable members can perform a ...

2021

Shape programmable multi-stable polymer actuators

Bekir Aksoy

Recent advances in soft actuators have enabled systems that are safer to interact with, better at handling fragile objects, able to produce complex shapes with fewer components. However, being inherently soft differs these actuators from their rigid counte ...

EPFL2021

Closed-Loop Position Control of a Self-Sensing 3-DoF Origami Module With Pneumatic Actuators

Jamie Paik, Mustafa Mete

This letter presents closed-loop position control of a pneumatically actuated modular robotic platform "pneumagami" that can be stacked to enlarge work and design space for wearable applications. The module is a 3 degrees of freedom (DoF) parallel robot wi ...

2021

3D Printed Motor-Sensory Module Prototype for Facial Rehabilitation

Jamie Paik, Amir Firouzeh, Matthew Aaron Robertson

This work demonstrates the first 3D printed wearable motor-sensory module prototype designed for facial rehabilitation, focusing on facial paralysis. The novelty of the work lies in the fast fabrication of the first fully soft working prototype, including ...

MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC2022

Two-dimensional modelling of transient capillary driven damped micro-oscillations and self-alignment of objects in microassembly

François Gallaire

In the fields of microgripping and microassembly, the self-alignment motion of a solid micro-object linked by a liquid meniscus to a substrate or a tool is an inexpensive way to overcome the current limitations of the assembly processes at microscale by ge ...

Cambridge University Press2021

Design and Thermal-Structural Analyses of Ancillary Components for the Optical Steering Mirror (M4) for the ITER ECH Upper Launcher

René Chavan, Timothy Goodman, Avelino Mas Sanchez, Matteo Vagnoni

Each of the four ITER Electron Cyclotron Heating Upper Launcher (ECHUL) features eight transmission lines (TLs) that are used to inject 170-GHz microwave power into the plasma at a level of up to 1.31 MW (at the TL diamond window) per line. The millimeter ...

IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC2020

Design and control of a prototype structure that adapts to loading through large shape changes

Ian Smith, Arka Prabhata Reksowardojo, Gennaro Senatore, Apoorv Srivastava

This paper reports on experimental testing that was carried out on a prototype adaptive structure designed to counteract the effect of loading through controlled large shape changes. The prototype is 6.6 m truss equipped with 12 linear actuators which has ...

ELSEVIER2020

Reconfigurable and Latchable Shape‐Morphing Dielectric Elastomers Based on Local Stiffness Modulation

Herbert Shea, Bekir Aksoy

Programmable soft materials exhibiting dynamically reconfigurable, reversible, fast, and latchable shape transformation are key for applications ranging from wearable tactile actuators to deployable soft robots. Multimorph soft actuator sheets with high lo ...

2020

Electrically-Driven Soft Fluidic Actuators Combining Stretchable Pumps With Thin McKibben Muscles

Herbert Shea, Vito Cacucciolo

Soft wearable robots could provide support for lower and upper limbs, increase weight lifting ability, decrease energy required for walking and running, and even provide haptic feedback. However, to date most of wearable robots are based on electromagnetic ...

2020