Reachability Improvement of a Climbing Robot Based on Large Deformations Induced by Tri-Tube Soft Actuators.

Locomotion of soft-bodied organisms, such as amoeba, worms, and octopuses, is safe, robust, and adaptable and has great promise for applications in complex environments. While such organisms fully exploit the potential provided by their soft structures, engineering solutions commonly constrain soft deformation in favor of controllability. In this study, we study how soft deformations can enhance the climbing capabilities of a robot.

Performance evaluation of a micro ultrasonic motor using a one-cubic-millimeter stator.

A piezoelectric ultrasonic motor has two significant advantages, high energy density and simple structure, and these advantages can help in the miniaturization of the motor. We build a prototype micro ultrasonic motor using a stator with a volume of approximately 1 cubic millimeter. To evaluate its representative performance values (torque, angular velocity, and energy efficiency), we built an experimental setup and operated the prototype motor by varying experimental conditions, such as the preload between the stator and rotor and the amplitude of voltages applied to motor.

Piezoelectric rotational mixer based on a first bending vibration mode.

We propose a miniature piezoelectric mixer that can rotate a liquid inside a hole of several millimeters diameter. The mixer has dimensions 14 × 14 × 10 mm with a through-hole (7 mm), and piezoelectric elements bonded to its four identical sides. When the first bending vibration mode of the mixer is excited by ac voltages, rotational flow of liquid is generated by the rotation of an acoustic field (acoustic streaming) in the through-hole.

Vibration analysis of cubic rotary-linear piezoelectric actuator.

Cubic design of a stator in a rotary-linear piezoelectric actuator is sophisticated and interesting, but the vibration theory of the cubic stator remains unclear when using the finite element method (FEM). In this paper, we analyze the vibration behavior of the cubic stator by applying the energy method, which distinguishes the component of mechanical energy. By changing the design of the stator (especially the length in the direction of the through-hole axis), we clarify how the vibration modes are in accordance at one equal frequency in cubic shape.

Rotary-linear piezoelectric microactuator with a cubic stator of side length 3.5 mm.

We report a miniature rotary-linear piezoelectric actuator with a single cubic stator of side length 3.5 mm which can generate rotary motion around the center axis and linear motion in the axial direction. The stator is fabricated as a single metallic cube of side length 3.

Design and implementation of spherical ultrasonic motor.

We present a mechanical design and implementation of spherical ultrasonic motor (SUSM) that is an actuator with multiple rotational degrees of freedom (multi-DOF). The motor is constructed of 3 annular stators and a spherical rotor and is much smaller and simpler than conventional multi-DOF mechanisms such as gimbals using servomotors. We designed a novel SUSM using experimental data from a single annular stator and a finite element method.

Rotary-linear piezoelectric actuator using a single stator.

We report a piezoelectric actuator having a single stator with rotary and linear motions (RLPA). The stator is fabricated as a single metallic cube with a through-hole. The surface of the inner circle of the hole generates elliptical motions at each natural frequency, transferring the energy to an output shaft, when AC voltages at the appropriate resonant frequency are applied to the piezoelectric elements.