A dynamic electrically driven soft valve for control of soft hydraulic actuators
Name
pnas.2103198118.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
2.44 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
4589784fc5fe2ba3005b4a99fe0fe6a1
Author(s)
Xu, Siyi
Chen, Yufeng
Hyun, Nak-seung P
Becker, Kaitlyn P
Wood, Robert J
Date Issued
2021
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Citation
Xu, Siyi, Chen, Yufeng, Hyun, Nak-seung P, Becker, Kaitlyn P and Wood, Robert J. 2021. "A dynamic electrically driven soft valve for control of soft hydraulic actuators." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118 (34).
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Significance
Soft actuators have advantages over traditional rigid robots in various applications due to their robustness, low mechanical stiffness, and low weight. Thus far, conventional rigid valves are the most common approach to control hydraulic soft actuators. Although soft valves have been designed in various forms, they have not achieved the pressure or flow rate conditions as required by many existing hydraulic actuators. In this paper, we introduce an electrically driven soft valve using dynamic dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs). These soft valves have a fast response time and are able to control fluidic pressure and flow rates that match the needs of hydraulic actuators with mesoscale channels. The DEA valves enable possibilities for soft onboard controls for future fluidic soft robots.
Soft actuators have advantages over traditional rigid robots in various applications due to their robustness, low mechanical stiffness, and low weight. Thus far, conventional rigid valves are the most common approach to control hydraulic soft actuators. Although soft valves have been designed in various forms, they have not achieved the pressure or flow rate conditions as required by many existing hydraulic actuators. In this paper, we introduce an electrically driven soft valve using dynamic dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs). These soft valves have a fast response time and are able to control fluidic pressure and flow rates that match the needs of hydraulic actuators with mesoscale channels. The DEA valves enable possibilities for soft onboard controls for future fluidic soft robots.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1073/PNAS.2103198118
