A soft and dexterous motor

We present a soft, bearing-free artificial muscle motor that cannot only turn a shaft but also grip and reposition it through a flexible gear. The bearing-free operation provides a foundation for low complexity soft machines, with multiple degree-of-freedom actuation, that can act simultaneously as...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2011-03, Vol.98 (12), p.123704-123704-3
Main Authors: Anderson, Iain A., Tse, Tony Chun Hin, Inamura, Tokushu, O'Brien, Benjamin M., McKay, Thomas, Gisby, Todd
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We present a soft, bearing-free artificial muscle motor that cannot only turn a shaft but also grip and reposition it through a flexible gear. The bearing-free operation provides a foundation for low complexity soft machines, with multiple degree-of-freedom actuation, that can act simultaneously as motors and manipulators. The mechanism also enables an artificial muscle controlled gear change. Future work will include self-sensing feedback for precision, multidegree-of-freedom operation.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.3565195