Nematic opto-mechanical actuators for the fabrication of refreshable tactile systems

Torras, Núria; Zinoviev, Kirill; Camargo, Carlos J.; Campo, Eva M.; Campanella, Humberto; Estéve, J.; Marshal, J. E.; Terentjev, E. M.; Omastová, Mária; Krupa, Igor; Teplický, Peter; Mamojka, B.; Burns, Peter D.; Röder, Brigitte; Vallribera, M.; Malet, R.; Zuffanelli, Simone; Soler, V.; Roig, Jordi; Walker, Natalie; Wenn, D.; Vossen, F. J.; Crompvoets, Floris M. H.

doi:10.1109/transducers.2013.6627111

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…An alternative integrates piezoelectric bending beam actuators perpendicular to the tactile sensing plane, enabling large bending beam actuators to be tightly packed for fully 2D displays [7,8]. MEMS technology is also increasingly being leveraged to create tactile displays, as in [9][10][11]. Important challenges nonetheless remain, including spatial resolution, refresh rate, and cost.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scalable, MEMS-enabled, vibrational tactile actuators for high resolution tactile displays

Xie

Zaitsev

Velásquez–García

et al. 2014

J. Micromech. Microeng.

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The design, fabrication, and characterization of a new type of tactile display for people with blindness or low vision is reported. Each tactile element comprises a piezoelectric extensional actuator that vibrates in plane, with a microfabricated scissor mechanism to convert the in-plane actuations into robust, higher-amplitude, out-of-plane (vertical) vibrations that are sensed with the finger pads. When the tactile elements are formed into a 2D array, information can be conveyed to the user by varying the pattern of vibrations in space and time. Analytical models and finite element analysis were used to design individual tactile elements, which were implemented with PZT actuators and both SU-8 and 3D-printed scissor amplifiers. The measured displacements of these 3 mm × 10 mm, MEMS-enabled tactile elements exceed 10 µm, in agreement with models, with measured forces exceeding 45 mN. The performance of the MEMS-enabled tactile elements is compared with the performance of larger, fully-macroscale tactile elements to demonstrate the scale dependence of the devices. The creation of a 28-element prototype is also reported, and the qualitative user experience with the individual tactile elements and displays is described.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scalable, MEMS-enabled, vibrational tactile actuators for high resolution tactile displays

Xie

Zaitsev

Velásquez–García

et al. 2014

J. Micromech. Microeng.

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“…As discussed previously, Torras et al worked with creating compression‐aligned micropillar arrays from LCE for haptic displays where the LCE responded to change in temperature . These two groups, along with others, collaborated to build upon this work and develop a refreshable Braille display . Ultimately, they used the LCE contractile dots to push pins through a surface to create Braille representations.…”

Section: Applications Of Lcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Liquid crystal elastomer actuators: Synthesis, alignment, and applications

Kularatne

Kim

Boothby

et al. 2017

J Polym Sci B Polym Phys

285

232

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Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are a unique class of materials which combine rubber elasticity with the orientational order of liquid crystals. This combination can lead to materials with unique properties such as thermal actuation, anisotropic swelling, and soft elasticity. As such, LCEs are a promising class of materials for applications requiring stimulus response. These unique features and the recent developments of the LCE chemistry and processing will be discussed in this review. First, we emphasize several different synthetic pathways in conjunction with the alignment techniques utilized to obtain monodomain LCEs. We then identify the synthesis and alignment techniques used to synthesis LCE-based composites. Finally, we discuss how these materials are used as actuators and sensors.

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“…The use of various concentrations of functionalized CNTs in the LCE matrix is indeed the basis of several applications in the field of micro-optical devices [40,41,42,43], Braille-based displays [56], solar-energy harvesting [57], and tactile and piezoelectric devices [42,58]. The possibility of using LCE composites as light concentrators and heat collectors was recently demonstrated by showing the artificial heliotropism for solar cells, utilizing fiber-network/SWCNT/LCE actuators [57].…”

Section: Lce-based Composites With Carbon Micro- and Nanostructurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Further studies are in progress to optimize several parameters, such as the contraction ratio, the threshold of response to the sunlight, and the loading capability. Another concrete application is related to tactile and haptic displays [56,58], where micro-patterning techniques were used to create arrays of dots able to change their shape either due to LED illumination or variations in temperature.…”

Section: Lce-based Composites With Carbon Micro- and Nanostructurementioning

confidence: 99%

Nanostructured Composites Based on Liquid-Crystalline Elastomers

et al. 2018

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Liquid-crystalline elastomers (LCEs) are the object of many research investigations due to their reversible and controllable shape deformations, and their high potential for use in the field of soft robots and artificial muscles. This review focuses on recent studies about polymer composites based on LCEs and nanomaterials having different chemistry and morphology, with the aim of instilling new physical properties into LCEs. The synthesis, physico-chemical characterization, actuation properties, and applications of LCE-based composites reported in the literature are reviewed. Several cases are discussed: (1) the addition of various carbon nanomaterials to LCEs, from carbon black to carbon nanotubes, to the recent attempts to include graphene layers to enhance the thermo-mechanic properties of LCEs; (2) the use of various types of nanoparticles, such as ferroelectric ceramics, gold nanoparticles, conductive molybdenum-oxide nanowires, and magnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles, to induce electro-actuation, magnetic-actuation, or photo-actuation into the LCE-based composites; (3) the deposition on LCE surfaces of thin layers of conductive materials (i.e., conductive polymers and gold nanolayers) to produce bending actuation by applying on/off voltage cycles or surface-wrinkling phenomena in view of tunable optical applications. Some future perspectives of this field of soft materials conclude the review.

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Nematic opto-mechanical actuators for the fabrication of refreshable tactile systems

Cited by 5 publications

References 14 publications

Scalable, MEMS-enabled, vibrational tactile actuators for high resolution tactile displays

Scalable, MEMS-enabled, vibrational tactile actuators for high resolution tactile displays

Liquid crystal elastomer actuators: Synthesis, alignment, and applications

Nanostructured Composites Based on Liquid-Crystalline Elastomers

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