News

Electrostatic actuators are simple and lightweight devices that emulate human muscles. However, their usage has primarily been restricted to moving small devices since they need high voltages to generate significant forces. Now, however, it may be possible to use electrostatic actuators in artificial muscles thanks to research from Tokyo Institute of Technology(Tokyo Tech) that made use of ferroelectric materials to create an electrostatic actuator that can generate a strong force at a low driving voltage.

Electrostatic actuators are devices that use electric fields to move objects. These devices consist of two oppositely charged electrodes that generate a force whenever an electric field develops between them. By altering the shape of their electrodes and filling the gap between them with flexible, soft materials, various configurations for electrostatic actuators have been developed in which the force can emulate that of operating muscles.

The force generated by electrostatic actuators depends on the voltage applied to their electrodes and the charges accumulated at the interface between the electrodes and the dielectric material. Therefore, to generate sufficient forces to support human movement and activities, these devices have to be supplied with a large voltage, which can be hazardous to the body.

Aiming to increase the force generated by actuators while keeping the voltage low, Professor Suzushi Nishimura and his team from Tokyo Tech have increased the accumulated charge by utilizing ferroelectric materials that spontaneously polarize.

The study which was a collaboration between researchers from Tokyo Tech and ENEOS Corporation, Japan, has been published in Advanced Physics Research.

Contact

Prof. Suzushi Nishimura（ENEOS Smart Materials & Devices Collaborative Research Programs）
http://www.smartmd.first.iir.titech.ac.jp/