In any case, their mechanisms are interesting in their own right! Join me after the break for a survey of piezo, magnetostrictive, magnetorheological, voice coils, galvonometers, and other devices.

Piezo-based nanopositioning systems are ideal for all these applications. The S-334 shown in the below picture is a compact piezo laser beam steering mirror unit.

Piezo flexure amplified actuators provide motion ranges of several 100µm and extremely fast mechanical response to drive signal changes in the order of milliseconds and below.

Qian Lu, Xifu Chen, Application of piezoelectric actuator in series nano-positioning stage, Science Progress (1933-), Vol. 103, No. 1 (2020), pp. 1-14 ...

Ultrasonic Actuators: Actuators that leverage high-frequency vibrations, often in the ultrasonic range, to induce motion without reliance on conventional electromagnetic components.

While piezoelectric materials expand or contract when electricity is applied, the minuscule displacement of piezo-ceramics limits use in robotics. In the Georgia Tech system “each muscle-like actuator ...

Piezoelectric sensors and actuators are embedded in pliable devices that conform to human skin and organ surfaces. These devices enable rapid characterization of the mechanical properties of soft ...

The Double Tip Tilt (DTT35XS) from Cedrat Technologies is a piezo point ahead mechanism/fast steering mirror platform initially developed in 2003 for the CNES Pharao space project. The DTT35XS off-the ...

A new fundamental understanding of polymeric relaxor ferroelectric behavior could lead to advances in flexible electronics, actuators and transducers, energy storage, piezoelectric sensors and ...

03/27/2025 By Zhiyong Gu Noah Jafferis, Ph.D., assistant professor from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of Massachusetts Lowell, will give a seminar titled, ...