Electrically-driven phase transition actuators to power soft robot designs.

ABSTRACT: In the quest for electrically-driven soft actuators, the focus has shifted away from liquid-gas phase transition, commonly associated with reduced strain rates and actuation delays, in favour of electrostatic and other electrothermal actuation methods. This prevented the technology from capitalizing on its unique characteristics, particularly: low voltage operation, controllability, scalability, and ease of integration into robots. Here, we introduce a liquid-gas phase transition electric soft actuator that uses water as the working fluid and is powered by a coil-type flexible heating element. It achieves strain rates of over 16%/s and pressurization rates of 100 kPa/s. Blocked forces exceeding 50 N were achieved while operating at voltages up to 24 V. We propose a method for selecting wor

SUBMITTER: Fonseca D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12032282 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature