Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Rapid Manufacturing of Thin Soft Pneumatic Actuators and Robots
Published on: November 8, 2019
Radiation-pressure-based cylindrically shaped microactuator capable of smooth, continuous, reversible, and stepped
R C Gauthier1, M Ashman, A Frangioudakis
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. gauthier@nickel.laurentian.ca
Abstract:
Long cylindrical objects have been observed to align their central axis with the propagation axis of the illuminating laser beam through the action of radiation-pressure-generated force and torque. A cylindrically shaped microactuator based on this principle and suitable for micromachine applications is examined theoretically. When four in-plane laser beams converging at a common point centered on the cylinder are used, the cylinder can be made to rotate about a pivot point. In one mode, smooth, continuous, and reversible rotation is possible, whereas the other cylinder can be step rotated and locked, similar to the operation of conventional stepping motors. The properties of the device are analyzed based on obtaining either a constant rotation rate with variable beam power levels or a quasi-constant rotation rate with constant beam power levels or on using a fixed beam sequence rate that matches the system parameters and produces smooth or stepped operation.
Related Concept Videos
Radiation Pressure: Problem Solving
The average value of the rate of momentum transfer divided by the absorbing area represents the average force per...
Plastic Deformation in Circular Shafts
Hydrostatic Pressure Force on a Curved Surface
Deformation in a Circular Shaft
Momentum And Radiation Pressure
Rotation with Constant Angular Acceleration - II
The first...

