A Low-Power Electrothermal Flexible Actuator with Independent Heating Control for Programmable Shape Deformation.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Robotics Engineering
• Actuator Technology

Background:

• Flexible actuators are crucial for intelligent robotics and wearable devices.
• Conventional actuators struggle with high voltages, poor control, and limited deformation modes.
• These limitations hinder the development of complex, programmable dynamic systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a low-voltage, highly controllable, multi-mode programmable electrothermal actuator.
• To enable precise and adjustable deformation through programmable thermal control.
• To overcome limitations of conventional actuators for advanced applications.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of an electrothermal actuator using a conductive silver paste/Kapton/PDMS composite structure.
• Utilizing programmable thermal control for precise deformation adjustments.
• Experimental validation of actuator performance, including bending angle, response time, and voltage requirements.

Main Results:

• Achieved a large-angle bending of ~203° in 12 s at a low driving voltage of 2.0 V.
• Demonstrated programmable deformation modes: local, symmetric, and sinusoidal bending.
• Outperformed a PTFE/MXene/PI structure with a 64% increase in bending angle and 70% faster response time.

Conclusions:

• The proposed silver paste/Kapton/PDMS actuator offers significant improvements over traditional designs.
• The actuator provides high controllability, multi-mode programmability, and low-voltage operation.
• Potential applications include flexible robotics, wearable devices, and space-deformable antennas.