Transparent Soft Electrothermal Actuators with Integrated Cu Nanowire Heater for Soft Robotics

Abstract

Soft actuators with high flexibility have received widespread attention. Here, a transparent electrothermal soft actuator is designed and manufactured via sandwiched copper nanowires (Cu NWs) between two kinds of flexible substrates with different thermal expansion characteristics (polyethylene‐terephthalate (PET) and low‐density polyethylene (LDPE)). In order to improve bending characteristics of the soft actuator, heating performance of heaters with different widths is studied, and the bending characteristics of strain gauges under different voltages are also studied. The fabricated soft actuator can produce a bend of 90° and provide about 1 mN of force at a low voltage of 6 V. The application of this type of soft actuator is demonstrated toward biomimetic robotics, a two‐finger flexible transparent gripper is designed, where two soft actuators are utilized to simulate the movements of human fingers and realizes the operation of picking and placing fine objects. In addition, the topography of the object can be feasibly observed during clamping process of the soft actuator with certain light transmittance, which is favorable for the soft gripper application.

Recent Advances in Electrically Driven Soft Actuators across Dimensional Scales from 2D to 3D

“…For this bilayer actuator, the difference in expansion between two layers could induce a bending deformation. Based on this deformation mechanism, an electrical electrode as a heater can be integrated in the actuator [55,56] or one deformation layer with better conductivity can also act as the heater [57,58] to create the thermal expansion-based soft actuators. [59][60][61][62][63] The heating electrodes of the soft actuators also need to be flexible with very low deformation stress, for the purpose of producing a minimum degree of stress resistance to the deformation of the actuator.…”

Soft Magneto‐Responsive Shape Memory Foam Composite Actuators

“…[9][10][11] Magnetically responsive actuators are particularly intriguing among the several conceivable types of devices and actuation modes since they are quick, contactless, and powered by magnetic fields that may be used safely around people. [12][13][14][15] For minimally invasive medical devices, contactless control makes it possible to operate untethered equipment in small places. [16][17][18] Creating supple things in the continuous attempts to design devices with complicated output motion powered by a simple single input, magnetoresponsive is also a viable strategy.…”

Multi-responsive and programmable actuators made with nacre-inspired graphene oxide-bacterial cellulose film

“…electrical, photo, and thermal) into mechanical energy and show macroscopic 2D or 3D shape changes. [1][2][3][4][5] The physical stimuli can be electric, [6][7][8] light, 9 heat, 10 pressure, 11 and magnetism. 12 The chemical stimuli can be pH, 13 water vapor, 14,15 and other solvent vapor.…”