Publications related to Variable Stiffness Spring Actuators for Low-Energy-Cost Human Augmentation

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

High energy-density electrostatic actuators for soft robotics

Sylvain Thomas Schaller

This thesis reports high energy-density electrostatic actuators for use in soft robotics. This thesis has two main parts: a) a detailed study of electro-adhesion using microfabricated electrodes, and b) a flexi-ble fiber-shaped linear motor. Electro-adhesi ...

EPFL2024

Surgical approaches to the capitellum: a comparative anatomic study

Alexandre Terrier, Frédéric Vauclair, Patrick Goetti

Background: Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) of the humeral capitellum is an important cause of elbow disability in young athletes. Large and unstable lesions sometimes require joint reconstruction with osteochondral autograft. Several approaches have been ...

Mosby-Elsevier2024

Pseudo-Three-Dimensional Analytical Model of Linear Induction Motors for High-Speed Applications

André Hodder, Mario Paolone, Lucien André Félicien Pierrejean, Simone Rametti

Literature on linear induction motors (LIMs) has proposed several approaches to model the behavior of such devices for different applications. In terms of accuracy and fidelity, field analysis-based models are the most relevant. Closed-form or numerical so ...

2024

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

Permanently magnetized elastomer rotating actuator using traveling waves

Herbert Shea

We report a soft actuator that generates continuous rotation of an object placed on it by electromagnetically exciting circular travelling waves in a soft disk. The disk, that serves as the stator, is made of a stretchable composite consisting of segments ...

Iop Publishing Ltd2024

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

The mouse motor system contains multiple premotor areas and partially follows human

Joanes Grandjean, Valerio Zerbi

While humans are known to have several premotor cortical areas, secondary motor cortex (M2) is often considered to be the only higher -order motor area of the mouse brain and is thought to combine properties of various human premotor cortices. Here, we sho ...

Cell Press2024

Exploring the effectiveness of using internal CNC system signals for chatter detection in milling process

Dimitrios Kyritsis, Roberto Pérez, Xiaochen Zheng

Chatter is a harmful self-excited vibration that commonly occurs during milling processes. Data -driven chatter detection and prediction is critical to achieve high surface quality and process efficiency. Most existing chatter detection approaches are base ...

ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD2023

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

Computational design and additive manufacturing of electromagnetic coils

Adrien Jean-Michel Thabuis

The modern world is heavily reliant on electromagnetic devices to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy and vice versa. These devices are fundamental to powering our society, and the growing need for automated production lines and electrified tr ...

EPFL2023

Coupled Rotary and Oscillatory Motion in a Second-Generation Molecular Motor Pd Complex

Lukas Pfeifer

Molecular machines offer many opportunities for the development of responsive materials and introduce autono-mous motion in molecular systems. While basic molecular switches and motors carry out one type of motion upon being exposed to an external stimulus ...

AMER CHEMICAL SOC2023

Motor imagery training to improve language processing: What are the arguments?

Sylvain Jean-François Harquel

Studies showed that motor expertise was found to induce improvement in language processing. Grounded and situated approaches attributed this effect to an underlying automatic simulation of the motor experience elicited by action words, similar to motor ima ...

FRONTIERS MEDIA SA2023

Dynamic control of high-voltage actuator arrays by light-pattern projection on photoconductive switches

Herbert Shea, Amir Firouzeh, Vesna Bacheva, Edouard Franck Vincent Gustave Leroy, Aiste Balciunaite

The ability to control high-voltage actuator arrays relies, to date, on expensive microelectronic processes or on individual wiring of each actuator to a single off-chip high-voltage switch. Here we present an alternative approach that uses on-chip photoco ...

SPRINGERNATURE2023

Neuronal correlates of goal-directed sensorimotor transformation in sensory, motor and higher-order cortical areas

Anastasiia Oryshchuk

An important function of the brain is to interpret incoming sensory information from the outside world to guide adaptive behavior. Understanding how and where sensory information is transformed into motor commands in a context- and learning-dependent manne ...

EPFL2023

Soft Bending Actuator With Fiber-Jamming Variable Stiffness and Fiber-Optic Proprioception

Sudong Lee

Soft actuators with a function of variable stiffness are beneficial to the improvement of the adaptability of robots, expanding the application areas and environments. We propose a tendon-driven soft bending actuator that can change its stiffness using fib ...

Ieee-Inst Electrical Electronics Engineers Inc2023

Modeling and analysis of miniaturized magnetorheological valve for fluidic actuation

Sofia Lydia Ntella

Fluidic actuation enables movement in a wide range of mechanical systems, from simple laboratory devices to more complex industrial machinery. Fluids are used to generate motion of mechanical pieces. The term "fluids" encompasses two types of technologies: ...

EPFL2023

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

Morphological assessment of cartilage and osteoarthritis in clinical practice and research: Intermediate-weighted fat-suppressed sequences and beyond

Tom Hilbert

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is widely regarded as the primary modality for the morphological assessment of cartilage and all other joint tissues involved in osteoarthritis. 2D fast spin echo fat-suppressed intermediate-weighted (FSE FS IW) sequences w ...

SPRINGER2023

High-speed turbocompressors for natural fluid heat-pumps: from integrated design to digital-twin

Luis Eric Olmedo Ocampo

Compressors for commercial and industrial heat-pumps in the 100kW-load range are currently dominated by positive displacementmachines. In the context of refrigerant phaseouts and changing regulations, natural refrigerants are seen as a compelling alternati ...

EPFL2023