A Lesson from Plants: High-Speed Soft Robotic Actuators

Advanced Science
Richard BaumgartnerSiegfried Bauer

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 rangi...Continue Reading

References

Jan 28, 2005·Nature·Yoël ForterreL Mahadevan
Nov 8, 2008·IEEE Transactions on Bio-medical Engineering·Chih-Hung KingWarren S Grundfest
May 12, 2011·Integrative and Comparative Biology·Patrick T MartoneThomas Speck
May 26, 2011·Journal of Theoretical Biology·M L SmithA Ruina
Nov 30, 2011·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Robert F ShepherdGeorge M Whitesides
Feb 6, 2013·Angewandte Chemie·Robert F ShepherdGeorge M Whitesides
Nov 29, 2017·Soft Robotics·Tao WangMichael Yu Wang

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Citations

Oct 8, 2020·Advanced Materials·Jiaqing XiongPooi See Lee
Jan 28, 2021·Soft Robotics·Josef M StadlbauerSiegfried Bauer
Apr 2, 2021·Advanced Materials·Aniket PalRamses V Martinez
May 30, 2021·Advanced Science·Nicholas KellarisChristoph Keplinger
Sep 3, 2021·Advanced Science·Yangqiao LinJun Zou

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