๐ก Soft pneumatic actuators are at the heart of soft robotics, offering reliability, safety, and flexibility. However, conventional bulky air compressors and pipes have limited their integration and lightweight design. Enter the Peltier pouch motor (PPM), a cutting-edge soft thermoelectric-based actuator that redefines possibilities in the field.
๐ The PPM introduces modular and dual-stroke capabilities through active phase transition of a low-boiling-point liquid, enabling pipeless thermo-pneumatic actuation. Its lightweight and stretchable design fosters hyper-modularity, paving the way for diverse degrees-of-freedom hybrid systems.
๐ From thermo-responsive land locomotion to submersible noise-free hovering and beyond, the PPM excels in various applications, including smart curtains control, body-temperature-driven wrist rehabilitation, and adaptive hybrid gripping. Our results showcase exceptional performance metrics, highlighting high load rates (around 400%), remarkable heat transfer efficiency (heating boost 425%, cooling boost 138%), and rapid thermal response (heating 0.57ยฐโsโ1, cooling 0.29ยฐโsโ1 at 4.5โV).
Paper link: https://lnkd.in/dPbyXHQd
Co-authors: WENCHAO YUE, Chengxi Bai, Prof Sam, Jiewen Lai, and Prof Hongliang Ren.
๐ฅ Join us on this groundbreaking journey as we push the boundaries of soft robotics with the innovative Peltier pouch motor! ๐คโจ
