Toward a Dielectric Elastomer Resonator Driven Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicle

Cao, Chongjing; Burgess, SC; Conn, Andrew T.

doi:10.3389/frobt.2018.00137

Cited by 43 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Another conical deformation of DEA has been detailed that utilized a dual eight‐layer DEA multilayer made from polyacrylate tape, silicone elastomers, and a nylon spacer dowel to stretch the DEA films into two symmetric conical actuators (Figure 9f) enabling the flight of a micro aerial vehicle (MAV) with a flapping wing mechanism (Figure 9g). The MAV demonstrates a 209 mW mechanical power output, 108.9 W kg −1 mass‐specific mechanical power density, and a peak flapping stroke of 63° at 18 Hz (Figure 9h) 201. Another illustration of bioinspired implementation of DEA has been reported by Godaba et al who prepare a bell‐shaped cone from commercial silicone DEA to prepare an air chamber to mimic a jellyfish (Figure 9i) 202.…”

Section: Dielectric Elastomersmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…h) The MAV demonstrates a peak flapping stroke of 63° at 18 Hz. f–h) Reproduced under the terms of the CC‐BY Creative Commons Attribution License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) 201. Copyright 2019, The Authors, published by Frontiers Media S.A. i) A bell‐shaped silicone DEA cone with air chamber mimics a jellyfish that j) expels water as a mechanism of propulsion.…”

Section: Dielectric Elastomersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Materials as Machines

2020

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of responsive materials as machines is in robotics. The vision, leadership, and research of Bar-Cohen is seminal in both invigorating and focusing current-day research activities to develop responsive materials [2] and implement [3] them as lightweight, dexterous, and gentle (e.g., soft) robotic elements. In this spirit, this review exhaustively details the materials, the nature of their stimuli-response, and discusses considerations for their implementation in robotic systems and subsystems.Robotics is a well-established but growing field of research. Sustained progress in both performance and functionality continue to be realized in commercial robotic systems largely based on conventional materials and their integration with mechanisms. A recent example is the Atlas robot from Boston Dynamics [4] (Figure 1a). The incorporation of stimuli-responsive materials in robotics has largely focused on component-level demonstrations to extend the performance of a subsystem (such as a hand or gripper).Stimuli-responsive materials, spanning nearly all classes of materials and size scales, are currently subject to widespread examination in corporate, government, and academic research laboratories (Figure 1b-d). [5][6][7] In some cases, these materials have already found widespread commercial implementation in end use and are comparatively mature. The materials and fundamentals of their responses are summarized in Figure 2. Shape memory alloys (SMAs) and ceramic piezoelectric materials are distinctive in that they are hard, stimuli-responsive materials. Deformation of these materials can produce large energy densities due to their inherent stiffness. Electroactive polymers (EAPs) remain a topic of considerable interest, particularly dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs). Engineered systems are rapidly emerging and enabling performance gains in robotics, largely based on pneumatic or fluidic (such as HASEL [8] actuators) transport processes that localize deformation to generate force or produce motion. Soft materials, such as shape memory polymers (SMPs), hydrogels, and liquid crystalline polymer networks (LCNs) and elastomers (LCEs) may offer distinctive functional performance to robotic systems in allowing local control of deformation without the need for complex interfacing with mechanisms. As will be evident, each of these materials has inherent advantages and performance tradeoffs that must be considered in functional implementations. However, responsive material systems have a common obstacle to widespread use: the performance and Machines are systems that harness input power to extend or advance function. Fundamentally, machines are based on the integration of materials with mechanisms to accomplish tasks-such as generating motion or lifting an object. An emerging research paradigm is the design, synthesis, and integration of responsive materials within or as machines. Herein, a particular focus is the integration of responsive materials to enable robotic (machine) functions such as gripping, lifting, or motility (walk...

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Section: Dielectric Elastomersmentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Dielectric Elastomersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Materials as Machines

2020

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“…On the other hand, the rolled DEA which has an 11 mm diameter and 61 mm length shows five-degree wing strokes at 0.6 Hz. The flapping robot, which adopted resonance-based movement, was fabricated using a double cone shaped DEA in 2019 [108]. The structure of the robot is shown in Figure 10b.…”

Section: Flapping Robotmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…DEA driven crawling robot, flapping robot and jumping robot: (a) Crawling robot[106]; (b) Flapping robot[108]; (c) Jumping robot[110].…”

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confidence: 99%

Dielectric Elastomer Actuator for Soft Robotics Applications and Challenges

et al. 2020

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This paper reviews state-of-the-art dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) and their future perspectives as soft actuators which have recently been considered as a key power generation component for soft robots. This paper begins with the introduction of the working principle of the dielectric elastomer actuators. Because the operation of DEA includes the physics of both mechanical viscoelastic properties and dielectric characteristics, we describe theoretical modeling methods for the DEA before introducing applications. In addition, the design of artificial muscles based on DEA is also introduced. This paper reviews four popular subjects for the application of DEA: soft robot hand, locomotion robots, wearable devices, and tunable optical components. Other potential applications and challenging issues are described in the conclusion.

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“…Coupling DEA membranes in an antagonistic configuration draws clear parallels to the skeletal muscle architectures in nature and similarly generates benefits such as maximizing stroke and offering dual capabilities for either bi-directional push/pull actuation (when each membrane is driven out-of-phase) or increased holding force (when the membranes are activated in-phase and in tension against each other) [11]. DEAs with antagonistically-coupled membranes have been exploited for numerous applications including bistable structures [12] and bio-inspired robotics such as manipulators [13] and walking [14], crawling [15] and flapping wing [16] robots.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contactless coupling of dielectric elastomer membranes with magnetic repulsion

Cao

Gao²,

Conn³

2019

Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) XXI

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Dielectric elastomer (DE) actuators such as conventional double cone configurations have demonstrated that coupled DE membranes can be rigidly-coupled to execute antagonistic out-of-plane actuation. This paper presents experimental analysis of the compliant coupling in the emerging magnetically-coupled DE actuator (MCDEA) design, which exploits contactless magnetic repulsion to create a frictionless coupling between DE membranes. The compliance of this coupling enables the advantage of having two different actuation modes: antagonistic reciprocation and bi-directional expansion. However, since this compliance adds an additional degree-of-freedom, it increases the complexity of the actuator's dynamics because the coupling distance can exhibit oscillatory behavior that is distinct from each of the actuator's output oscillations in terms of phase difference and frequency. In this work, the relationship between DEA membrane stiffness and required magnetic force is experimentally analyzed before we present an investigation into the phase space of the compliant coupling and its relationship with the stroke amplitude. It is shown that the fundamental frequency of the MCDEA's output stroke (46.1 Hz) corresponds to a super-harmonic frequency of the magnetic coupling that is double that of the output. The fundamental frequency of the coupling (87.6 Hz) is found to correspond to a second resonant peak in the MCDEA's output with a much lower amplitude than at 46.1 Hz. This suggests that the dynamics can be exploited by controlling the excitation frequency for unidirectional push/pull or bidirectional expansion/contraction actuation, which creates potential for new compliant DE actuator and generator designs.

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Toward a Dielectric Elastomer Resonator Driven Flapping Wing Micro Air Vehicle

Cited by 43 publications

References 38 publications

Materials as Machines

Materials as Machines

Dielectric Elastomer Actuator for Soft Robotics Applications and Challenges

Contactless coupling of dielectric elastomer membranes with magnetic repulsion

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