Research interest into the miniaturisation of micro-robots has soared in recent years due to the availability of suitable integrated actuators. The reduction in size of these components is achieved through the implementation of Self-Sensing Actuation (SSA) ...
The previously reported gel and polymer actuators require external inputs, such as batteries, circuits, electronic circuits, etc., compared with autonomous motions produced by the living organisms. To realize the spontaneous motions, here, we propose to in ...
Each of the four ITER Electron Cyclotron Heating Upper Launcher (ECHUL) features eight transmission lines (TLs) that are used to inject 170-GHz microwave power into the plasma at a level of up to 1.31 MW (at the TL diamond window) per line. The millimeter ...
Programmable soft materials exhibiting dynamically reconfigurable, reversible, fast, and latchable shape transformation are key for applications ranging from wearable tactile actuators to deployable soft robots. Multimorph soft actuator sheets with high lo ...
The inherent compliance of soft robots often makes it difficult for them to exert forces on surrounding surfaces or withstand mechanical loading. Controlled stiffness is a solution to empower soft robots with the ability to apply large forces on their envi ...
Soft actuators using pressurized air are being widely used due to their inherent compliance, conformability and customizability. These actuators are powered and controlled by pneumatic supply systems (PSSs) consisting of components such as compressors, val ...
Soft machines and soft robots are an area of intense research because soft systems are safer to interact with, are better at handling fragile objects, can produce complex shapes with fewer transducers, are robust, and are ideal for wearable applications. H ...
Phase separation of immiscible fluids is a common phenomenon in polymer chemistry, and is recognized as an important mechanism by which cells compartmentalize their biochemical reactions. Biomolecular condensates are condensed fluid droplets in cells that ...
Chemically cross-linked polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomers have gained importance as a dielectric in elastic capacitor actuators, which elongate when electrically charged. Common PDMS elastomers have a dielectric permittivity of only about 3 and thus e ...