Multifunctional Actuators: Design, Control and Integration

A special issue of Actuators (ISSN 2076-0825). This special issue belongs to the section "Miniaturized and Micro Actuators".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 1396

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Laboratory of Sensors/Actuators and Energy Harvesting, National Institute for Research and Development in Electrical Engineering ICPE-CA, 030138 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: piezoceramic; electrostrictive, magnetostrictive, electromagnetics, electrodynamic and electrothermal micro-actuators; semiconductor and electrochemical microsensors; use of composite materials as sensitive materials and electronic conditioning systems for sensors; applications of magnetic nanofluids as sensing materials as a component of a sensing element, as well as in microactuation; "energy harvesting"-type devices by using energy sources such as piezoceramic, photovoltaic and electromagnetic structures
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Guest Editor Assistant
Department of Electromechanical and Electromagnetic Systems and Technologies, National Institute for Research and Development in Electrical Engineering ICPE-CA, 030138 Bucharest, Romania
Interests: piezoelectric and magnetostrictive microactuators; signal processing; data acquisition systems; micromachining; LIGA technology; electrodeposition; energy harvesting; cantilever structures; micromotors and microsensors

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The continuous evolution of intelligent systems requires actuators that not only provide motion or force but also incorporate sensing and intelligent control functionalities within a single compact device. Multifunctional actuators represent a transformative approach by merging actuation, sensing and embedded control, enabling self-monitoring, adaptive performance and enhanced reliability.

This Special Issue aims to gather recent advances in the design, fabrication, modeling and applications of multifunctional actuators, with a particular emphasis on novel piezoelectric, electromagnetic, magnetostrictive, electroactive materials and/or MEMS-based technologies. We particularly welcome contributions that highlight novel materials, innovative integration strategies, intelligent control algorithms and real-world applications.

We are pleased to invite academic researchers and industry experts to submit a manuscript to this Special Issue. The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:

  • Novel multifunctional materials for integrated actuation and sensing;
  • MEMS-based smart actuators with embedded sensing capabilities;
  • Hybrid piezoelectric–magnetostrictive actuation systems;
  • Advanced control strategies for multifunctional actuators;
  • Self-sensing actuators and real-time health monitoring;
  • Applications in robotics, biomedical devices and aerospace;
  • Innovative applications in energy harvesting;
  • Design, modeling, and optimization of multifunctional actuator systems.

This Special Issue aims to provide a platform for researchers to share breakthroughs in multifunctional actuators.

Dr. Lucian Pîslaru-Dănescu
Guest Editor

Dr. Marius Popa
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Actuators is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • multifunctional actuator systems
  • functional and/or multifunctional materials
  • actuator-based adaptive control
  • hybrid actuation systems
  • electronic drives
  • advanced manufacturing of multifunctional actuator
  • micro sensors and actuators

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

26 pages, 7133 KB  
Article
HASEL Actuators Activated with a Multi-Channel Low-Cost High Voltage Power Supply
by Levi Tynan, Upul Gunawardana, Daniele Esposito, Jessica Centracchio, Simone Minucci, Andrea Gaetano Chiariello and Gaetano Gargiulo
Actuators 2025, 14(12), 601; https://doi.org/10.3390/act14120601 - 8 Dec 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1042
Abstract
Hydraulically Amplified Self-Healing Electrostatic (HASEL) actuators promise a future of adaptive robotics in a world where robotics is becoming increasingly integrated into our daily lives. Adaptive robotics needs to control multiple outputs with precision and speed. Unfortunately, expensive High Voltage control restricts the [...] Read more.
Hydraulically Amplified Self-Healing Electrostatic (HASEL) actuators promise a future of adaptive robotics in a world where robotics is becoming increasingly integrated into our daily lives. Adaptive robotics needs to control multiple outputs with precision and speed. Unfortunately, expensive High Voltage control restricts the development of the HASEL actuator for commercial applications. This paper demonstrates a low-cost multi-channel High Voltage Power Supply (HVPS). The HVPS takes a 6 V input and controls multiple HASEL actuators from 0 to 10 kV, with a slew rate of up to 117.7 kV/s. In addition to controlling multiple channels, the low-cost HVPS can control two outputs with a single control module in an alternating pattern, similar to the way muscles control movement in alternating sequences—e.g., biceps and triceps. Previous work has shown that this low-cost HVPS is 95% cheaper than other power supplies used in the field of HASEL actuators. This work builds on the work reducing the cost of the HVPS by an additional 40%. This low-cost HVPS also reduces the amount of input required for control from four PWMs to one PWM with enable pins, drastically improving the performance of the device for multi-channel operation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifunctional Actuators: Design, Control and Integration)
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