Soft actuators, wihch are inspired by natural muscle, have many potential advantages such as resistance to mechanical damage and inherent compliance. However, their deployment have been restricted by the lack of a soft electrically driven motor that can generate large stroke. We have developed a flexible ultrasonic motor, which is a class of piezoelectric actuator. This motor with an elastic coil spring slider can rotate and translate the slider. Also, the translation stroke (travelling distance) is designed to be almost the same as the length of the coil spring.
Achievement