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Firouzeh A, Mizutani A, Groten J, Zirkl M, Shea H. PopTouch: A Submillimeter Thick Dynamically Reconfigured Haptic Interface with Pressable Buttons. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2024; 36:e2307636. [PMID: 37883071 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202307636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023]
Abstract
The interactions with touchscreens rely heavily on vision: The virtual buttons and virtual sliders on a touchscreen provide no mechanical sense of the object they seek to represent. This work presents PopTouch: a 500 µm thick flexible haptic display that creates pressable physical buttons on demand. PopTouch can be mounted directly on touchscreens or any other smooth surface, flat, or curved. The buttons of PopTouch are independently controlled hydraulically amplified electrostatic zipping taxels (tactile pixels) that generate 1.5 mm of out of plane displacement. When pressed by the user, the buttons provide intuitive mechanical feedback thanks to a snap-through characteristic in their force-displacement profile. The snap-through threshold can be as high as 4 N, and is tuned by design and actuation parameters. This work presents two versions of PopTouch: a transparent PopTouch for integration on Touchscreens with built-in touch sensing, such as smartphones and a sensorized PopTouch, with embedded thin-film piezoelectric sensors on each taxel, for integration on substrates without built-in touch sensing, such as a steering wheel. PopTouch adds static and vibrating button-like haptics to any device thanks to its thin profile, flexibility, low power consumption (6 mW per button), rapid refresh rate (2 Hz), and freely configured array format.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amir Firouzeh
- Soft Transducers Laboratory (LMTS), Institute of Mechanical Engineering (IGM), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Neuchatel, CH-2000, Switzerland
| | - Ayana Mizutani
- Soft Transducers Laboratory (LMTS), Institute of Mechanical Engineering (IGM), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Neuchatel, CH-2000, Switzerland
| | - Jonas Groten
- Joanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, Franz-Pichler-Straße 30, Weiz, A-8160, Austria
| | - Martin Zirkl
- Joanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, Franz-Pichler-Straße 30, Weiz, A-8160, Austria
| | - Herbert Shea
- Soft Transducers Laboratory (LMTS), Institute of Mechanical Engineering (IGM), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Neuchatel, CH-2000, Switzerland
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Choi C, Lee GJ, Chang S, Song YM, Kim DH. Nanomaterial-Based Artificial Vision Systems: From Bioinspired Electronic Eyes to In-Sensor Processing Devices. ACS NANO 2024; 18:1241-1256. [PMID: 38166167 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c10181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2024]
Abstract
High-performance robotic vision empowers mobile and humanoid robots to detect and identify their surrounding objects efficiently, which enables them to cooperate with humans and assist human activities. For error-free execution of these robots' tasks, efficient imaging and data processing capabilities are essential, even under diverse and complex environments. However, conventional technologies fall short of meeting the high-standard requirements of robotic vision under such circumstances. Here, we discuss recent progress in artificial vision systems with high-performance imaging and data processing capabilities enabled by distinctive electrical, optical, and mechanical characteristics of nanomaterials surpassing the limitations of traditional silicon technologies. In particular, we focus on nanomaterial-based electronic eyes and in-sensor processing devices inspired by biological eyes and animal visual recognition systems, respectively. We provide perspectives on key nanomaterials, device components, and their functionalities, as well as explain the remaining challenges and future prospects of the artificial vision systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changsoon Choi
- Center for Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, Post-silicon Semiconductor Institute, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul 02792, Republic of Korea
| | - Gil Ju Lee
- Department of Electronics Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Republic of Korea
| | - Sehui Chang
- School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea
| | - Young Min Song
- School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea
- AI Graduate School, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea
- Department of Semiconductor Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea
| | - Dae-Hyeong Kim
- Center for Nanoparticle Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Institute of Chemical Processes, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
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Gravert SD, Varini E, Kazemipour A, Michelis MY, Buchner T, Hinchet R, Katzschmann RK. Low-voltage electrohydraulic actuators for untethered robotics. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadi9319. [PMID: 38181082 PMCID: PMC10775996 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi9319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2024]
Abstract
Rigid robots can be precise but struggle in environments where compliance, robustness to disturbances, or energy efficiency is crucial. This has led researchers to develop biomimetic robots incorporating soft artificial muscles. Electrohydraulic actuators are promising artificial muscles that perform comparably to mammalian muscles in speed and power density. However, their operation requires several thousand volts. The high voltage leads to bulky and inefficient driving electronics. Here, we present hydraulically amplified low-voltage electrostatic (HALVE) actuators that match mammalian skeletal muscles in average power density (50.5 watts per kilogram) and peak strain rate (971% per second) at a 4.9 times lower driving voltage (1100 volts) compared to the state of the art. HALVE actuators are safe to touch, are waterproof, and exhibit self-clearing properties. We characterize, model, and validate key performance metrics of our actuator. Last, we demonstrate the utility of HALVE actuators on a robotic gripper and a soft robotic swimmer.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Elia Varini
- Soft Robotics Lab, D-MAVT, ETH, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | | | | | - Ronan Hinchet
- Computational Robotics Lab, D-INFK, ETH, Zurich, Switzerland
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Hu P, Albuquerque FB, Madsen J, Skov AL. Highly stretchable silicone elastomer applied in soft actuators. Macromol Rapid Commun 2022; 43:e2100732. [PMID: 35083804 DOI: 10.1002/marc.202100732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Revised: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
In this work, a highly stretchable silicone elastomer is incorporated into dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) in order to decrease operation voltages by applying high prestretches. Results show that the fabricated DEAs (5-mm-diameter circle active region) can be actuated to a lateral strain of 30% at 4.3 kV for a 122 μm-thick prestretched film, and to a lateral strain of 2.5% at only 250 V for a 6.9 μm-thick prestretched film. Due to the significant viscous component of the silicone elastomer, the DEAs respond more slowly (2-14 s to reach 90% of full strain) and show greater strain changes over time compared to conventional silicone-based DEAs. While this inherent viscosity is not universally favorable, it can be advantageous in applications where actuator damping is desirable. The studied DEAs' mean lifetimes under DC actuation range significantly-from 0.9 h to more than 123.0 h-depending mainly on initial electrical fields (17.8-36.3 V/μm). For instance, DEAs with a 150 μm initial thickness and a prestretch ratio of 3 show 1.4-2.6% lateral strains for the mean lifetime (123.0 h) at only 300 V. Given the strains achieved at low voltage, such DEAs show promise for applications that do not require fast response speeds. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengpeng Hu
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, 2800, Denmark
| | - Fabio Beco Albuquerque
- Soft Transducers Laboratory, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Jeppe Madsen
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, 2800, Denmark
| | - Anne Ladegaard Skov
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, 2800, Denmark
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Bernet S. Combined diffractive optical elements with adjustable optical properties controlled by a relative rotation: tutorial. JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA. A, OPTICS, IMAGE SCIENCE, AND VISION 2021; 38:1521-1540. [PMID: 34612982 DOI: 10.1364/josaa.432558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
A pair of adjacent transmissive diffractive optical elements (DOEs) forms a combined DOE with tunable optical properties, as, for example, a diffractive lens with an adjustable focal length. The optical properties are controlled by a relative movement of the two DOEs, such as a translation or a rotation around the optical axis. Here we discuss various implementations of this principle, such as tunable diffractive lenses, axicons, vortex plates, and aberration correction devices. We discuss the limits of the tuning range and of diffraction efficiency. Furthermore, it is demonstrated how chromatic aberrations can be suppressed by using multi-order DOEs.
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Chen L, Ghilardi M, Busfield JJC, Carpi F. Electrically Tunable Lenses: A Review. Front Robot AI 2021; 8:678046. [PMID: 34179110 PMCID: PMC8220069 DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2021.678046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2021] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Optical lenses with electrically controllable focal length are of growing interest, in order to reduce the complexity, size, weight, response time and power consumption of conventional focusing/zooming systems, based on glass lenses displaced by motors. They might become especially relevant for diverse robotic and machine vision-based devices, including cameras not only for portable consumer electronics (e.g. smart phones) and advanced optical instrumentation (e.g. microscopes, endoscopes, etc.), but also for emerging applications like small/micro-payload drones and wearable virtual/augmented-reality systems. This paper reviews the most widely studied strategies to obtain such varifocal “smart lenses”, which can electrically be tuned, either directly or via electro-mechanical or electro-thermal coupling. Only technologies that ensure controllable focusing of multi-chromatic light, with spatial continuity (i.e. continuous tunability) in wavefronts and focal lengths, as required for visible-range imaging, are considered. Both encapsulated fluid-based lenses and fully elastomeric lenses are reviewed, ranging from proof-of-concept prototypes to commercially available products. They are classified according to the focus-changing principles of operation, and they are described and compared in terms of advantages and drawbacks. This systematic overview should help to stimulate further developments in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leihao Chen
- School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom.,Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Michele Ghilardi
- School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - James J C Busfield
- School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Federico Carpi
- Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
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