A Lesson from Plants: High‐Speed Soft Robotic Actuators
Abstract Rapid energy‐efficient movements are one of nature's greatest developments. Mechanisms like snap‐buckling allow plants like the Venus flytrap to close the terminal lobes of their leaves at barely perceptible speed. Here, a soft balloon actuator is presented, which is inspired by such m...
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doaj-2d82e0f0b77649bfb76ebcf8b0c2afc82020-11-25T01:39:08ZengWileyAdvanced Science2198-38442020-03-0175n/an/a10.1002/advs.201903391A Lesson from Plants: High‐Speed Soft Robotic ActuatorsRichard Baumgartner0Alexander Kogler1Josef M. Stadlbauer2Choon Chiang Foo3Rainer Kaltseis4Melanie Baumgartner5Guoyong Mao6Christoph Keplinger7Soo Jin Adrian Koh8Nikita Arnold9Zhigang Suo10Martin Kaltenbrunner11Siegfried Bauer12Soft Matter Physics Institute of Experimental Physics Johannes Kepler University Linz Altenberger Straße 69 Linz 4040 AustriaSoft Matter Physics Institute of Experimental Physics Johannes Kepler University Linz Altenberger Straße 69 Linz 4040 AustriaSoft Matter Physics Institute of Experimental Physics Johannes Kepler University Linz Altenberger Straße 69 Linz 4040 AustriaInstitute of High Performance Computing A*STAR 1 Fusionopolis Way, #16‐16 Connexis Singapore 138632 SingaporeSoft Matter Physics Institute of Experimental Physics Johannes Kepler University Linz Altenberger Straße 69 Linz 4040 AustriaSoft Matter Physics Institute of Experimental Physics Johannes Kepler University Linz Altenberger Straße 69 Linz 4040 AustriaSoft Materials Lab Linz Institute of Technology LIT Johannes Kepler University Linz Altenberger Straße 69 Linz 4040 AustriaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering University of Colorado Boulder Boulder CO 80309 USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering National University of Singapore Singapore 117575 SingaporeSoft Materials Lab Linz Institute of Technology LIT Johannes Kepler University Linz Altenberger Straße 69 Linz 4040 AustriaJohn A Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Harvard University 29 Oxford Street Cambridge MA 02138 USASoft Matter Physics Institute of Experimental Physics Johannes Kepler University Linz Altenberger Straße 69 Linz 4040 AustriaSoft Matter Physics Institute of Experimental Physics Johannes Kepler University Linz Altenberger Straße 69 Linz 4040 AustriaAbstract Rapid energy‐efficient movements are one of nature's greatest developments. Mechanisms like snap‐buckling allow plants like the Venus flytrap to close the terminal lobes of their leaves at barely perceptible speed. Here, a soft balloon actuator is presented, which is inspired by such mechanical instabilities and creates safe, giant, and fast deformations. The basic design comprises two inflated elastomer membranes pneumatically coupled by a pressurized chamber of suitable volume. The high‐speed actuation of a rubber balloon in a state close to the verge of mechanical instability is remotely triggered by a voltage‐controlled dielectric elastomer membrane. This method spatially separates electrically active and passive parts, and thereby averts electrical breakdown resulting from the drastic thinning of an electroactive membrane during large expansion. Bistable operation with small and large volumes of the rubber balloon is demonstrated, achieving large volume changes of 1398% and a high‐speed area change rate of 2600 cm2 s−1. The presented combination of fast response time with large deformation and safe handling are central aspects for a new generation of soft bio‐inspired robots and can help pave the way for applications ranging from haptic displays to soft grippers and high‐speed sorting machines.https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.201903391bioinspired dielectric elastomer actuatorscoupled dielectric elastomer balloonssnap‐bucklingsnap‐through instabilitiessoft robotics for high‐speed actuation |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Richard Baumgartner Alexander Kogler Josef M. Stadlbauer Choon Chiang Foo Rainer Kaltseis Melanie Baumgartner Guoyong Mao Christoph Keplinger Soo Jin Adrian Koh Nikita Arnold Zhigang Suo Martin Kaltenbrunner Siegfried Bauer |
spellingShingle |
Richard Baumgartner Alexander Kogler Josef M. Stadlbauer Choon Chiang Foo Rainer Kaltseis Melanie Baumgartner Guoyong Mao Christoph Keplinger Soo Jin Adrian Koh Nikita Arnold Zhigang Suo Martin Kaltenbrunner Siegfried Bauer A Lesson from Plants: High‐Speed Soft Robotic Actuators Advanced Science bioinspired dielectric elastomer actuators coupled dielectric elastomer balloons snap‐buckling snap‐through instabilities soft robotics for high‐speed actuation |
author_facet |
Richard Baumgartner Alexander Kogler Josef M. Stadlbauer Choon Chiang Foo Rainer Kaltseis Melanie Baumgartner Guoyong Mao Christoph Keplinger Soo Jin Adrian Koh Nikita Arnold Zhigang Suo Martin Kaltenbrunner Siegfried Bauer |
author_sort |
Richard Baumgartner |
title |
A Lesson from Plants: High‐Speed Soft Robotic Actuators |
title_short |
A Lesson from Plants: High‐Speed Soft Robotic Actuators |
title_full |
A Lesson from Plants: High‐Speed Soft Robotic Actuators |
title_fullStr |
A Lesson from Plants: High‐Speed Soft Robotic Actuators |
title_full_unstemmed |
A Lesson from Plants: High‐Speed Soft Robotic Actuators |
title_sort |
lesson from plants: high‐speed soft robotic actuators |
publisher |
Wiley |
series |
Advanced Science |
issn |
2198-3844 |
publishDate |
2020-03-01 |
description |
Abstract Rapid energy‐efficient movements are one of nature's greatest developments. Mechanisms like snap‐buckling allow plants like the Venus flytrap to close the terminal lobes of their leaves at barely perceptible speed. Here, a soft balloon actuator is presented, which is inspired by such mechanical instabilities and creates safe, giant, and fast deformations. The basic design comprises two inflated elastomer membranes pneumatically coupled by a pressurized chamber of suitable volume. The high‐speed actuation of a rubber balloon in a state close to the verge of mechanical instability is remotely triggered by a voltage‐controlled dielectric elastomer membrane. This method spatially separates electrically active and passive parts, and thereby averts electrical breakdown resulting from the drastic thinning of an electroactive membrane during large expansion. Bistable operation with small and large volumes of the rubber balloon is demonstrated, achieving large volume changes of 1398% and a high‐speed area change rate of 2600 cm2 s−1. The presented combination of fast response time with large deformation and safe handling are central aspects for a new generation of soft bio‐inspired robots and can help pave the way for applications ranging from haptic displays to soft grippers and high‐speed sorting machines. |
topic |
bioinspired dielectric elastomer actuators coupled dielectric elastomer balloons snap‐buckling snap‐through instabilities soft robotics for high‐speed actuation |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.201903391 |
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