Actuators, Volume 9, Issue 2

This paper characterizes the static, dynamic, and controlled behavior of a high-performance electro-hydraulic actuator to assess its suitability for use in evaluating machine tool behavior. The actuator consists of a double-acting piston and cylinder...

The output feedback signal of the electro-hydraulic valve system (EHVS) affects the activation of its right or left envelope function; thus, even weak measurement noise can cause high-frequency switching between the two envelope functions, leading to...

Up to date, Dielectric Elastomer Actuators (DEA) have been mostly based on either silicone or acrylic elastomers, whereas the potential of DEAs based on inexpensive, wide-spread natural and synthetic rubbers has been scarcely investigated. In this pa...

Nowadays, the concept of programmable matter paves the way for promising applications such as reshaping an object to test different configurations, modeling or rapid prototyping. Based on elementary modules, such matter can be arranged and disassembl...

Single-port laparoscopic surgery (SLS), which utilises one major incision, has become increasingly popular in the healthcare sector in recent years. However, this technique suffers from several problems particularly the inability of current SLS instr...

This paper proposes an electromagnetic actuator that concurrently realizes two working functions of vibration suppression and energy regeneration. The actuator consists of four permanent magnetic rings, three soft iron rings, three coils, and three s...

Smart and soft electroactive polymer actuators as building blocks for soft robotics have many beneficial properties that could make them useful in future biomimetic and biomedical applications. Gelatin—a material exploited for medical applicati...

With the rising demand for energy efficiency, displacement-controlled or so-called pump-controlled systems have become an attractive research topic for applications in construction machinery and other off-road vehicles. Pump-controlled systems can be...

Improved management and impermeability of refrigerants is a leading solution to reverse global warming. Therefore, crank-driven reciprocating refrigerator compressors are gradually replaced by more efficient, oil-free and hermetic linear compressors....

Giant magnetostrictive materials (GMMs) have broad application prospects in the field of servo valves, but the giant magnetostrictive actuator (GMA) has problems such as large loss and severe heat generation, which affect the output effect and accura...

This paper proposes an improved version of the play model for capturing the frequency-dependent hysteresis of a bimorph piezoelectric actuator that includes odd harmonic oscillation and interleaved hysteresis. The proposed model used a single mathema...

The development and validation of prognostic algorithms and digital twins for Electromechanical Actuators (EMAs) requires datasets of operating parameters that are not commonly available. In this context, we are assembling a test bench able to simula...

In new-generation soft robots, the actuation performance can be increased by using multiple materials in the actuator designs. However, the lifetime of these actuators is often limited due to failure that occurs at the weak multi-material interfaces...

This article presents the development of a self-bending contraction actuator (SBCA) through the analysis of its structure, kinematics, and torque formulas, and then explores its applications. The proposed actuator has been fabricated by two methods t...

Chopsticks are a popular tool used every day by 1.5 billion people to pick up pieces of food of different sizes and shapes. Given that the use of chopsticks requires sophisticated muscle control, they are difficult to use for unskilled people. In thi...

Uncertainty caused by a parameter measurement error or a model error causes difficulties for the implementation of the control method. Experts can divide the uncertain system into a definite part and an uncertain part and solve each part using variou...

In this article, an efficient and fast two-stage approach for controlling DC-DC boost converter using non linear sliding mode controller for a PV power plant is proposed. The control approach is based on two online methods instead of using the conven...

In mobile devices, the screen size limits conveyance of immersive experiences; haptic feedback coupled with visual feedback is expected to have a better effect to maximize the level of immersion. Therefore, this paper presents a miniature tunable hap...

In this paper, a voice coil motor (VCM) actuated fast tool servo (FTS) system is developed for diamond turning. To guide motions of the VCM actuator, a crossed double parallelogram flexure mechanism is selected featuring totally symmetric structure w...

Origami structures are highly demanded for engineering applications. Using origami folding to design and actuate mechanisms and machines offers attractive opportunities. In this paper, we design a crawling robot driven by pneumatic foldable actuators...

This paper presents a novel method for point-to-point path control for a hydraulic knuckle boom crane. The developed path control algorithm differs from previous solutions by operating in the actuator space instead of the joint space or Cartesian spa...

Twisted and coiled polymer (TCP) can generate large stroke and output high power density, making it a promising artificial muscle. Thermally induced muscles fabricated from nylon or other polymer fibers can be used in robotic, biomedical devices, and...

This research explores a new ATE (Automatic Testing Equipment) method for Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) devices. In this method, microscale aerodynamic drag force is generated on a movable part of a MEMS sensor from a micronozzle hole locat...