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The magnetically actuated soft origami mechanisms (MASOMs), which integrates the advantages of magnetic actuation and origami mechanisms, possesses promising prospective applications on soft untethered machines such as soft robots and compliant actuators. Generally, the deformation behavior of these mechanisms are analyzed through finite element analysis (FEA) considering elusive nonlinear constitutive equations of magnetically actuated elastomer that captures magnetic body torque and force induced by a magnetic field. However, it is time-consuming and troublesome to model and analyze the case with heterogeneous magnetization distribution. We propose an equivalent magnetic bar and hinge model to investigate the folding behavior of planar MASOMs under a uniform magnetic field. Both FEA and experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model in analyzing MASOMs with different system geometries and magnetization profiles. Two case studies with parallel and serial origami creases and different magnetization profiles are provided to show the practicability. The proposed model provides an effective method to investigate and design MASOMs. • An equivalent magnetic bar and hinge model for MASOMs is proposed. • The efficiency and accuracy of the proposed model have been investigated. • Application examples with complicated configurations are demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analytical model that can be utilized in the design and optimization of a 2-DOF micro-positioning stage using corrugated flexure (CF) units. Stiffness components of the CF beam and the middle stage of CF stage are derived through stiffness matrix method. Numerical simulations indicate smaller length of straight segment, smaller thickness and larger number of CF units are better for maximizing the off-axis/axial stiffness ratio. Further, the dimensions of CF stage have been optimized, leading to a CF stage with higher off-axis/axial stiffness ratio and larger range of motion. The optimal result is validated by the finite element analysis (FEA) and experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A design method for the dielectric elastomer actuator is developed. • Structure of dielectric elastomer actuator is generated conveniently by curves. • Topology optimization is performed using genetic method. • Dielectric elastomer grippers are designed with expected performance. Dielectric elastomer (DE) grippers have attracted much attention in safety applications due to their intrinsic compliance, large deformation and high response speed. The performances of DE grippers can be influenced by the design of both the electrode patterns on the DE film and the film supporting frame. This paper presents a design scheme using Bezier curves for topology optimization of both electrode patterns and frame structures. Two kinds of DE grippers are designed to maximize the output displacements. Thereafter, the optimized DE grippers are fabricated and tested. The agreement between experiments and simulations is observed, which shows the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]