Microbiorobotics

Chapter 4

Broadcast Control for a Large Array of Stochastically Controlled Piezoelectric Actuators

Jun Ueda* and H. Harry Asada^†

^*The G. W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

^†Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Cellular control system inspired by biological muscles

4.2.1 Compliant actuator unit

4.2.2 Bistable actuator control

4.2.3 Broadcast control

4.2.4 Cellular control system with broadcast control and stochastic recruitment

4.3 Piezoelectric actuator cells with large strain amplification

4.3.1 Nested structure for exponential strain amplification

4.3.2 Variable stiffness actuator with tunable resonant ...