Enabling multichannel communication within dielectric elastomers

Integrated Logic for Dielectric Elastomers: Replicating the Reflex of the Venus Flytrap

“…External cables are used to connect the latch to the rest of the system: voltage generator, fixed resistors R f , sensors, and gripper. The PMMA frames for the DETs are smaller than in previous works (39 × 37 mm instead of 70 × 50 mm) [ 12,13 ] , easing the integration of the circuit. In addition, the inputs S and R are now controlled by two DES button systems as the one described in Figure 5.…”

“…From a digital point of view, it is possible to realize the equivalent of a transistor by coupling a DEA and a DES on the same elastomer membrane, as shown in Figure 1c,d. [12,13] When high voltage is applied to the DEA, it expands and compresses the DES, lowering its resistance R DES . The resulting structure is the dielectric elastomer transistor (DET), and it works similarly to a conventional transistor where T 1 , T 2 , and T 3 are the equivalents of gate, drain, and source.…”