Smart material based actuator for

Macro- to Micro - systems

Dr. I.A. Palani,

Associate Professor
Mechatronics and Instrumentation Laboratory,
Discipline of Mechanical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Indore ( IIT Indore),
India.
Robots which are of current demand

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 Introduction
• Through out History, humans have attempted to mimic biological
creatures in appearance, functionality, intelligence of operation and
their thinking processes.
•More flexible actuation and sensing system
•With no gears and complex mechanism
•Robotics engineers to develop autonomous, legged robots with
mission-handling capabilities

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 Need for smart materials

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 Adaptability of smart materials for robotic
applications

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 Clusters of smart materials

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a)PneuNets grippers acting on a boiled egg b) GoQbot, a caterpillar inspired rolling robot. The total size of the SMA actuated
device is approximately 10 cm. c) Pneumatic tetrapod can crawl and undulate to navigate around an obstacle d) Design and
architecture of the medusoid built by seeding rat myocardiac cells on a PDMS
7
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Conventionally and specialized smart actauators
 Shape Memory Alloy (SMA)
 Micro-sphere composites
 Piezoelectric materials
 Magnetostructive
 Ferrofluid based actuator
 Polymer based actuators
 Auxetic foam
 Smart Hydrogels

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 Shape memory Alloy ( SMA)

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 ShapeIntroduction
Memory alloys
 Shape memory alloys are the novel materials which have the ability to retain to
their shape on heating.
Shape memory actuated with hot
water
One way and two way shape memory effect

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 Training of an SMA actuators

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 Limitations of Tedious training

MEIL, IIT Indore, India 20

 Micro-Valve Micro-pump
Micro-Gripper

Shape Memory alloy based micro-systems

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Four fingered robotic hand with SMA

IEEE Africon 2009,

ValerieFar´ias,Luc
´iaSolis,LorenaMel
´endez,ClaudiaGarc
´iaandRamiroVel´azquez
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Four fingered robotic hand with SMA

IEEE Africon 2009,

ValerieFar´ias,Luc
´iaSolis,LorenaMel
´endez,ClaudiaGarc
´iaandRamiroVel´azquez
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 SMA thin film actuators for robotic applications

New materials for micro-

scale actuator and sensor-
An engineering review
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 SMA actuated robot prostheses

New materials for micro-

scale actuator and sensor-
An engineering review
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SMA actuators for bio- medical robots

Proceedings of the 4 National

Congress on Theoretical and
Applied Mechanics
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SMA actuators for bio- medical robots

Proceedings of the 4 National

Congress on Theoretical and
Applied Mechanics
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 SMA actuated micro- robots

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 SMA actuated micro- robots

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Inch worm mechanism
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 Shape memory alloy polymer

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 Video on SMA polymer

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Magnetic shape memory alloy based actuator

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Piezoelectric materials for robotics materials

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Principle of piezoelectric materials

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Principle of piezoelectric materials

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Characteristics of piezoelectric actuators

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 Piezo electric ceramics

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 Piezo electric polymers

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 Piezo electric actuator

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 Piezoelectric stack actuator

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 Piezo-hydraulic actuator

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Piezoelectric meso scale mobile robots

Design of a Piezoelectric Meso-scale

Mobile Robot: A Compliant
Amplification Approach
V. K. Varma†and W. E. Dixon

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Piezoelectric meso scale mobile robots

Smart Actuators for Miniature Mobile

Robots
Miklós Vogel PhD. student
Ferenc Vajda PhD. student

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Piezoactuated micro-robots in micro biology
Piezo-tube
Biomorph

Applications of piezo-actuated micro-

robots in
micro-biology and material science
J.-M. Breguet, W. Driesen, F. Kaegi, T.
Cimprich
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 Impact Drive Mechanism

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF
SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS,
ENGINEERING & DEVELOPMENT
Issue 3, Volume 5, 2011

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 Piezo electric Stick slip drive

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 Impact Drive Mechanism

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF
SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS,
ENGINEERING & DEVELOPMENT
Issue 3, Volume 5, 2011

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 Operation of Inchworm motor

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 Inch worm working principle

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF
SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS,
ENGINEERING & DEVELOPMENT
Issue 3, Volume 5, 2011

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 Piezo electric materials for micro-robotic
applications
Multi segment centipede robot

Sensors and
Actuators A (2012),
Michael Karpelson∗,
Gu-Yeon Wei,Robert
J. Wood

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF
SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS,
ENGINEERING & DEVELOPMENT
Cockroach inspired hexapod and piezoelectric bimorph
Issue 3,actuator
Volume 5, 2011

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Micro-Mechanical Flying insects

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 Laser micro-machined sheets
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 Non buckling slider crank

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 Completed 1 DOF composite thorax

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 Spherical 5 bar drawing

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Piezo electric travelling wave robot

Chi hsiang pan. Sz sheng tzou, Ruei yang shiu International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation August 4-7, 2010, Xi'an, China

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 Chi hsiang pan. Sz sheng tzou, Ruei yang shiu International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation August 4-7, 2010, Xi'an, China

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 Chi hsiang pan. Sz sheng tzou, Ruei yang shiu International Conference on Mechatronics and Automation August 4-7, 2010, Xi'an, China

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 Power dissipation

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Ferro Fluid based micro-robotic
systems

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Passive use of Ferrofluid as
bearing

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Expandable micro-sphere composites for robotics
and micro-actuator systems

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 Thermally activated gel
Thermally activated
gel, poly vinly methy
ether (PVME)
produces a volume
change due to thermal
phase transitions,
usually within a
temperature range of
20 C to 40 C . The
polymer exhibits a
contractile force of
100kPa with a
response time of
20-90 sec

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Principle of micro-sphere composites

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Principle of micro-sphere composites

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e (a) unexpanded (state before actuation), (b) expanded (state after
actuation; liquid container removed for visualization) and (c) expansion
without constraining liquid container results in a volume expansion of seven
times the original volume

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unexpanded PDMS-XB composite after imprinting an arrow-
shaped mold into the composite

SEM picture of the expanded composite after expansion

inside another, 80 mm deep mold and subsequent removal
of the mold
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 Picture sequence (a–e) showing the release of 24 nl of liquid from a reservoir.
The reservoir is completely depleted after 1.6 s

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 Magnetostructive materials

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 Principle of Magnetostriction

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 Magnetostructive effect

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 Magnetisation curve

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 Villari effect and Wideman effect
• Reverse of Magnetostructive
• applying stress to a
magnetostructive material
changes its magnetic
properties

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Configuration of Magnetostructive sensor

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 Application of magnetostructive sensor for
automotive application

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 Application of magnetostructive sensor for
automotive application

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 Reaction mass transducer

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 Linear motor based on terfenol –D
(Worm Motor)

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 Terefenol-D in sonar transducer

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 Terefenol-D in electro-hydraulic transducer

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 Terefenol-D wireless linear micro-motor

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Bi-directional moving principle of wireless micro robot

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 Magnetostructive thin films applications

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 Electro-active polymer

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 Electro active polymers (EAP)
• Towards Artificial Muscles:

• What are the properties of an ideal

artificial muscle?

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 Biomimetic Solution? :
Electro-active Polymers
• Electroactive Polymers: Undergo contraction/bending in
response to electric field

• Can be fabricated under variable conditions to produce wide-

ranging properties

• Research Initiated at NASA for robotic and space applications

• Touted as Potential Replacements for Biological Muscles

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 Biomimetic Solution? :
Electro-active Polymers
• Electroactive Polymers: Undergo contraction/bending in
response to electric field

• Can be fabricated under variable conditions to produce wide-

ranging properties

• Research Initiated at NASA for robotic and space applications

• Touted as Potential Replacements for Biological Muscles

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 Biomimetic Solution? :
Electro-active Polymers

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 Classification of electro-active poly mers

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 Non Electro active polymers

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 Chemically activated polymers

•Rubber in drop of oil

•Cross linked polyacrylic acid
gel for chemical actuation,
moved from acid solution to the
base solution
•Polyacrylonitrile gel fibre
(PAN)
a volume change of 800%
when moved from acid to base

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 Shape Memory polymers

Phase segregated multiblock copolymer,

mostly polyurethanes
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 Pneumatic artificial muscles

Power to weight ratio of 1KW/Kg

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 Pneumatic artificial muscles

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 Light activated polymer
•Polyelectrolyte gels due to
chemically induced
ionization explained by
mechanochemisty

•Deformation of polyenthylene
gel produced by light induce d
ionization was observed and
labelled as the
mechanophotochemical effect

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 Magnetically activated polymer
•Ferro gel are a chemically cross
liked polymer network swollen by a
ferro fluid, which is collidal
disperison of monodomain,
magnetic particles
•The beads aligned as a chain link
structure is uniform magentic filed
lines and they aggregate in a non
uniform field due to
magnetophretic force
•The use of polymer gels as actuator
creates a quick and reliable control
system and the use of electric or
magnetic stimuli facilitates the
development of these control
systems

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 Ionic EAP

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 Ionic polymer gel

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Ionic
Ionicpolymer
Polymer metal
Metal composites
Composites
• Bending Actuator
• Bending occurs through
charge migration upon
activation
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Auxetic Materials for micro-
robotic systems

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2. Microscopic analysis 3. DSC analysis

Normal PU foam

Auxetic foam
 4. Tensile tests and analysis

Maximum stress before fracture is 0.75Maximum

MPa stress before fracture is 0.5
Ultimate stress of Auxetic foam Parameters of the test:
has increased by 37% compared Dimensions of the
to the normal PU foam. sample:
35x35x70
Calculation of Poisson’s ratio
 Poisson’s ratio results
Volumetric Poisson ratio
compression (Tension)
ratio

1.0 0.42

2.0 -0.27

2.8 -0.45

3.3 -.67

3.8 -0.71
 Compression test

Compression analysis upto 25% Compression analysis upto 50%

strain strain
Compression test(75%)
Imparting biocompatibility to Auxetic
Materials (Work done in NTU Singapore)
• Because of its negative Poisson's ratio, Auxetic
materials have potential, like a dilator for
opening the cavity of an artery, or similar vessel
in coronary angioplasty and related procedures
• But, we cannot simply use any kind of material Fig 1: schematic
for biological applications, material must be diagram showing the
biocompatible for any biological or biomedical coronary angioplasty
applications
• Biocompatibility nature to Auxetic materials can
be imparted
by coating them with the hydrophilic
polyampholytes.

Fig 2: Auxetic dilator

for opening cavity of
Smart Hydrogels

164
a) Cell sheet engineering through immobilization of thermosensitive
hydrogel layers on surfaces, and remote control of their temperature. The method
has been tested in vitro for different tissues b) Mechanism of electrodeposition of
chitosan, for the immobilization of hydrogel films, and protein assembly.
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a) Enzyme responsive grippers, made of magnetic metallic materials
and polymeric hinges.b) Star and Venus flytrap shaped hydrogel bilayers. c) Different designs of
hydrogel bilayers are possible depending onthe geometry of the structure. Applications are from 167
drug delivery, to encapsulation ofcells and bead, to microsurgery.
A few examples of hydrogel based microrobots. a) earthworm-like
movement and cargo transport of a gel beads by phase transition of NIPAAM
hydrogel rods b) Locomotion of a walking device constituted of a humidity sensitive
hydrogel bilayer. The device is 2 mm long c) Example of octopus like Aquabot,
fabricated with electroactive hydrogels. The entire structure is 4-5 mm long d)
PEGDA laser responsive structure used for the assembly of cell-laden microgels
168
Different shapes of self-folding are producing by organizing the bilayers
in geometrically different ways. a) Homogeneous layers produce symmetric
structures, while hinges(b) allow the formation of sharp edges. c) Helices can be
formed by triangular layers. Different applications have been investigated in the
past in the fieldof biomedical engineering. However, no multifunctional design has
been presented till now.

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The microrobotic platform is the result of a combination of three parts;
magnetic alginate microbeads are used for cell scaffolding and magnetic
manipulation.Self-folding hydrogel bilayers are used for NIR actuation and
load protection.Electromagnetic manipulation systems are used for
untethered steering in 3D. 171
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How do I select my actuator for my
robot ?

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Design considerations

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Piezojena micro-gripper machined in EDM

SMA micro-gripper

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