Electromagnetically driven elastic actuator

Abstract

Elastic and active elements will play a leading role in the development of dexterous and compliant robots. We present the fabrication of an elastic functional structure with ferromagnetic properties capable of producing compressive stress and strain in the presence of magnetic fields. The elastic structure consists of a mixture of a soft elastomer and 99% pure iron powder. The magnetic and elastic properties of the material were modeled and investigated based on the principles of electromagnetism. These elastic actuators reach up to approximately -2700 N/m <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> stress and achieve a strain of approximately 17% when embedded in a solenoid coil. The elastic actuators are promising for use as muscle-like structures while they provide softness in interaction.