Long, Fibrous, and Tailorable Dielectric Elastomer Artificial Muscles via Mask‐Free Stamping of Carbon Nanotube Electrodes

Abstract High‐performance, large‐size artificial muscles are in great demand in the field of robotics. This work reports a comprehensive approach for fabricating, actuating, sensing, and controlling a 180 mm‐long fibrous dielectric elastomer (DE) artificial muscle. The fabrication process introduces a novel method for patterning large‐area, uniform electrodes using vacuum filtration followed by mask‐free stamping on DE substrates. To address the challenge of long charging times that impair dynamic performance, an amplitude modulation algorithm is developed for high‐frequency actuation, which increased generated strain by 64% at a resonant frequency of 10 Hz. Additionally, the hollow space within the rolled artificial muscle is used to integrate a waveguide that serves as a strain sensor. This combined actuation‐sensing structure maintains flexibility and actuation capabilities while enabling self‐sensing and feedback control. The versatility of the DE artificial muscle is further demonstrated by segmenting a single long muscle into three shorter units and employing these units to construct two multi‐actuator machines: a tensegrity‐based gimbal and a rotary engine. This work advances the large‐scale production and application of DE artificial muscles.