Open AccessLow‐Voltage Soft Actuators for Interactive Human–Machine Interfaces
Author(s) -
Chen Shaohua,
Tan Matthew Wei Ming,
Gong Xuefei,
Lee Pooi See
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
advanced intelligent systems
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2640-4567
DOI - 10.1002/aisy.202100075
Subject(s) - actuator , voltage , computer science , low voltage , interface (matter) , mechanical engineering , electrical engineering , artificial intelligence , engineering , bubble , maximum bubble pressure method , parallel computing
Soft electrical actuators driven by low voltages are promising for interactive human–machine interfaces (iHMI) applications including executing orders to complete various tasks and communicating with humans. The attractive features of low‐voltage soft electrical actuators include their good safety, low power consumption, small system size, and nonrigid or deformable characteristics. This review covers three typical classes of electrical actuators, namely, electrochemical, electrothermal, and other electrical (dielectric, electrostatic, ferroelectric, and plasticized gel) actuators according to their mechanism and working potential range. For each kind of actuators, the advantages, working principle, device configuration/design, materials selection, recent progress, and potential applications for iHMI are summarized, with the strategies for enhancing the actuation performance under low voltages being highlighted. Finally, the challenges for those soft actuators and possible solutions are discussed.