Untethered thin dielectric elastomer actuated soft robot
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arXiv
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
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| _version_ | 1866909971659096064 |
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| author | Wang, Xi Liu, Jing Li, Siqian Dai, Hengtai Chang, Jung-Che Rushworth, Adam Dong, Xin |
| author_facet | Wang, Xi Liu, Jing Li, Siqian Dai, Hengtai Chang, Jung-Che Rushworth, Adam Dong, Xin |
| contents | Thin dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) features a unique in-plane configuration, enabling low-profile designs capable of accessing millimetre-scale narrow spaces. However, most existing DEA-powered soft robots require high voltages and wired power connections, limiting their ability to operate in confined environments. This study presents an untethered thin soft robot (UTS-Robot) powered by thin dielectric elastomer actuators (TS-DEA). The robot measures 38 mm in length, 6 mm in height, and weighs just 2.34 grams, integrating flexible onboard electronics to achieve fully untethered actuation. The TS-DEA, operating at resonant frequencies of 86 Hz under a low driving voltage of 220 V, adopts a dual-actuation sandwiched structure, comprising four dielectric elastomer layers bonded to a compressible tensioning mechanism at its core. This design enables high power density actuation and locomotion via three directional friction pads. The low-voltage actuation is achieved by fabricating each elastomer layer via spin coating to an initial thickness of 50 um, followed by biaxial stretching to 8 um. A comprehensive design and modelling framework has been developed to optimise TS-DEA performance. Experimental evaluations demonstrate that the bare TS-DEA achieves a locomotion speed of 12.36 mm/s at resonance, the untethered configuration achieves a locomotion speed of 0.5 mm/s, making it highly suitable for navigating confined and complex environments. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_17940 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Untethered thin dielectric elastomer actuated soft robot Wang, Xi Liu, Jing Li, Siqian Dai, Hengtai Chang, Jung-Che Rushworth, Adam Dong, Xin Robotics Thin dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) features a unique in-plane configuration, enabling low-profile designs capable of accessing millimetre-scale narrow spaces. However, most existing DEA-powered soft robots require high voltages and wired power connections, limiting their ability to operate in confined environments. This study presents an untethered thin soft robot (UTS-Robot) powered by thin dielectric elastomer actuators (TS-DEA). The robot measures 38 mm in length, 6 mm in height, and weighs just 2.34 grams, integrating flexible onboard electronics to achieve fully untethered actuation. The TS-DEA, operating at resonant frequencies of 86 Hz under a low driving voltage of 220 V, adopts a dual-actuation sandwiched structure, comprising four dielectric elastomer layers bonded to a compressible tensioning mechanism at its core. This design enables high power density actuation and locomotion via three directional friction pads. The low-voltage actuation is achieved by fabricating each elastomer layer via spin coating to an initial thickness of 50 um, followed by biaxial stretching to 8 um. A comprehensive design and modelling framework has been developed to optimise TS-DEA performance. Experimental evaluations demonstrate that the bare TS-DEA achieves a locomotion speed of 12.36 mm/s at resonance, the untethered configuration achieves a locomotion speed of 0.5 mm/s, making it highly suitable for navigating confined and complex environments. |
| title | Untethered thin dielectric elastomer actuated soft robot |
| topic | Robotics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.17940 |