Ž . A capacitive sensor has been developed for measuring the vertical deflection of bridge-type micro-electromechanical MEMS silicon actuators. The sensor requires no electrodes above the actuator surface and does not require the actuator diaphragm to be used as a signal electrode. Sets of interdigitated electrodes, one for ac signal injection and the other for signal sensing, are placed beneat...

The paper studies the performance of the new fluid jet actuator based on the novel principle of the generation of fluid jet, which has been presented in [Z. Trávníček, A.I. Fedorchenko, A.-B. Wang, Enhancement of synthetic jets by means of an integrated valve-less fluid pump. Part I. Design of the actuator, Sens. Actuators A, 120 (2005) 232– 240]. The fluid jet actuator consists of a synthetic ...

The present study considers a hybrid controller scheme for the optimal switching of a moving (or scanning) actuator (MA) for a class of distributed parameter systems (DPS). The proposed hybrid controller switches both the location and control signal of the actuator at the beginning of a time interval and remains unchanged over the duration of the time-interval. As time progresses, the above pol...

Thermally activated shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators are direct-driven and produce high power density with design versatility. However, beyond their linear actuation in spring forms there is little variety and their application in robotics is limited by the challenging characterization of the actuator. In this paper we introduce a novel low-profile torsional SMA actuator design, and its compr...

Networked control systems (NCSs) offer many advantages over conventional control; however, they also demonstrate challenging problems such as network-induced delay and packet losses. This paper proposes an approach of predictive compensation for simultaneous networkinduced delays and packet losses. Different from the majority of existing NCS control methods, the proposed approach addresses co-d...

Self-validating (SEVA) pneumatic actuator is a new generation of actuator which can not only give the corresponding output according to the input control variable but also give the accuracy of the control output and status of the actuator itself and other information. A dual processor system is implemented using C8051F060 and TMS320F28335 to acquire the signals and complete fault detection, dia...

Research has shown that variable valve timing (VVT) can improve significantly the performance of internal combustion (IC) engines, including higher fuel efficiencies, lower emissions, and larger torque outputs at each point of the engine map. To achieve independent and continuous VVT for each valve, an electromechanical valve drive (EMV) system with a custom-designed limited-angle actuator was ...

In magnetic disk drive actuators, requirements to record and read data at higher track densities has made mechanical resonances of the servo actuator, suspension and the head gimbal assembly a critial consideration. The application of piezo electric material in the servo actuator can be used to re ne and accomplish track following in (extremely) high track density magnetic data storage by contr...

The development of a fluid cell with an acoustic radiation pressure ARP actuator for atomic force microscopy AFM is reported. The ARP actuator uses a zinc oxide thin film transducer fabricated on a silicon substrate to generate acoustic waves in the 120–180 MHz range. These waves are coupled to the liquid and are reflected off of the AFM cantilever exerting radiation pressure to move the AFM ca...

TCERA (Tunable Compliance Energy Return Actuator) is a robotic actuator inspired by properties and behavior of the human knee joint, in that it utilizes antagonistic contraction to vary torsional stiffness and joint angle. The actuator is an electrically activated artificial muscle which uses two constant air-mass pneumatic springs configured antagonistically about the knee joint. The positions...