Valveless microliter combustion for densely packed arrays of powerful soft actuators
Abstract
Even in the rapidly accelerating digital age, the portable, electronic tactile display remains an unsolved actuation technology challenge. The design requirements associated with manufacturing arrays of closely spaced, small actuators are notoriously difficult to satisfy, shown by how currently available actuation strategies fail when implemented at the scale of braille dots. Through experiments with a less common actuation method, microliter combustion in elastomers, we find that hyperelastic membranes can be forcefully and quickly displaced. Without valves, we can pack actuators more closely together to introduce a potential pathway toward powering a practical, portable, electronic haptic display system.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Sep 23, 2021
- Source ID
- 10.1073/pnas.2106553118
Entities
People
- Amir D Gat
- Cameron A Aubin
- Elizabeth M. Fisher
- Hyeon Seok An
- Nicholas Kincaid
- Ofek Peretz
- Perrine Pepiot
- Robert F Shepherd
- Ronald H. Heisser
- Sadaf Sobhani
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Cornell University
- National Science Foundation
- Technion – Israel Institute of Technology