News

Start of the Summer Semester 2025

The Summer Semester 2025 has officially started. During the current semester, the APS team will offer the following classes:

Please click on the corresponding links if you wish to know more details on each specific class.

Plenary Talk in the conference "IEEJ Sensing, Actuation, Motion Control, and Optimization (SAMCON2025)“

On March 2rd 2025, Prof. Rizzello will present the plenary talk Modeling, Control, and Self-Sensing of Dielectric Elastomers: from Actuators to Soft Robots at the conference IEEJ Sensing, Actuation, Motion Control, and Optimization (SAMCON2025).

Invited Presentation in the conference "SPIE Smart Structures + NDE 2025“

On March 18th 2025, Prof. Rizzello will present the invited talk Leveraging bi-stability and model-based approaches in dielectric elastomer soft robots at the conference SPIE Smart Structures + Nondestructive Evaluation 2025.

Paper acceptance for journal publication in IEEE Transactions on Robotics

Our paper "Model-Based Robust Position Control of an Underactuated Dielectric Elastomer Soft Robot" has been accepted for publication in the journal IEEE Transactions on Robotics.

Paper acceptance at the conference IEEE RoboSoft 2025

Our papers  "Model-based design of multi-stable 3D soft manipulators: a dielectric elastomer case study", "A mobile tensegrity robot driven by rolled dielectric elastomer actuators", and "Kinematic Modeling and Self-Sensing of a Shape Memory Alloy Wire-Driven Continuum Robot" have been accepted for presentation at the 8th IEEE-RAS International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft 2025, Lausanne, Switzerland).

Lectures during Winter Semester 2024-2025

The Winter Semester 2024-2025 will start soon. During the current semester, the APS will offer the following classes:

Please click on the corresponding links if you wish to know more details on each specific class. 

In case you wish to attend any of those classes, please register via the corresponding links:

The MS Teams channels will be used for general communication and/or exceptional situation of online teaching, while the official lectures will be held in presence. More details will be announced over the next few weeks via the MS Teams channels.

Begin of the DFG prokect "S3DEG – The next generation of bi-Stable, Smart, and Self-sensing Dielectric Elastomer Generators"

The APS team is happy to announce that it just started working on the DFG-funded project "S3DEG – The next generation of bi-Stable, Smart, and Self-sensing Dielectric Elastomer Generators", in cooperation with Prof. Giacomo Moretti (University of Trento, Italy). The project has a duration of 3 years, and its goal is the development of novel bi-stable energy harvesting systems based on dielectric elastomer transducers. Check here for more details.

Paper acceptance for journal publication in Journal of Vibration and Control

Our paper "An experimental parametric analysis of the acoustic response in dielectric elastomer loudspeakers" has been accepted for publication in the journal Journal of Vibration and Control.

Paper acceptance at the conference IEEE/ASME MESA 2024

Our paper "Task Space Trajectory Planning for an  Articulated Dielectric Elastomer Soft Robot with Input Saturation and Underactuation" has been accepted for presentation at the 20th IEEE/ASME International Conference on Mechatronic and Embedded Systems and Applications (MESA, Genova, Italy).

Paper acceptance at the conference IEEE MED 2024

Our paper "Design of Exponentially Stabilizers for Distributed Control Systems Subject to Cyber Disconnections" has been accepted for presentation at the IEEE 32nd Mediterranean Conference on Control and Automation (MED, Chania, Crete, Greece).

Paper acceptance for journal publication in Advanced Engineering Materials

Our paper "Effects of Solvents on the Material Properties of Screen-printed Electrodes and a PDMS Dielectric for Dielectric Elastomer Transducers" has been accepted for publication in the journal Advanced Engineering Material.

Paper acceptance for journal publication in Sensors and Actuators A: Physical

Our paper "A tri-modal dielectric elastomer actuator integrating linear actuation, sound generation, and self-sensing capabilities" has been accepted for publication in the journal Sensors and Actuators A: Physical.

Start of the Summer Semester 2024

The Summer Semester 2024 has officially started. During the current semester, the APS team will offer the following classes:

Please click on the corresponding links if you wish to know more details on each specific class.

Paper acceptance for journal publication in Smart Materials and Structures

Our paper "Energy-based modeling of rate-independent hysteresis and viscoelastic effects in dielectric elastomer actuators" has been accepted for publication in the journal Smart Materials and Structures.

Paper acceptance for journal publication in IEEE/ASME Transactions Mechatronics

Our paper "Sensorless proprioception in multi-DoF dielectric elastomer soft robots via system-level self-sensing" has been accepted for publication in the journal IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics.

Paper acceptance for journal publication in IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics

Our paper "Physics-based modeling of ferroelectric hysteresis for ceramic capacitors in inductively coupled microstimulators" has been accepted for publication in the journal IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.

Paper acceptance at the conference IEEE RoboSoft 2024

Our paper "Nonlinear Coordinate Transformation and Trajectory Tracking Control of an Underactuated Soft Robot Driven by Dielectric Elastomers" has been accepted for presentation at the 2024 IEEE 7th International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft 2024, San Diego, Ca, US).

Paper acceptance at the conference IEEE AMC 2024

Our papers "Passivity-Based Impedance Control of a Class of Nonlinear Actuators with Internal Dynamics" and "Closed Loop Positioning of a Dielectric Elastomer Actuator Driven by a Feedback-Controlled High Voltage Circuit" have been accepted for presentation at the IEEE 18th international conference on advanced motion control (AMC 2024, Kyoto, Japan).

Paper acceptance for journal publication in Wiley Advanced Engineering Materials

Our paper "Systematic Methodology for an Optimized Design of Shape Memory Alloy-Driven Continuum Robots" has been accepted for publication in the journal Wiley Advanced Engineering Materials.

Lectures during Winter Semester 2023-2024

The Winter Semester 2023-2024 will start soon. During the current semester, the APS will offer the following classes:

Please click on the corresponding links if you wish to know more details on each specific class. 

In case you wish to attend any of those classes, please register via the corresponding links:

The MS Teams channels will be used for general communication and/or exceptional situation of online teaching, while the official lectures will be held in presence. More details will be announced over the next few weeks via the MS Teams channels.

Paper acceptance for journal publication in IEEE Transactions on Robotics

Our paper "Lightweight Human-Friendly Robotic Arm based on Transparent Hydrostatic Transmissions" has been accepted for publication in the journal  IEEE Transactions on Robotics.

Paper acceptance for journal publication in IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics

Our paper "Design, Modeling, and Experimental Validation of a High Voltage Driving Circuit for Dielectric Elastomer Actuator" has been accepted for publication in the journal IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics.

Paper acceptance for journal publication in Elsevier Mechatronics

Our paper "Robust output regulation of a class of smart actuators described by a minimum phase LPV dynamics" has been accepted for publication in the journal Elsevier Mechatronics.

Paper acceptance for journal publication in GAMM Mitteilungen

Our paper "Optimal operation of dielectric elastomer wave energy converters under harmonic and stochastic excitation" has been accepted for publication in the journal GAMM Mitteilungen.

Paper acceptance for journal publication in IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology

Our paper "Gain-Scheduled Structured Control in DC Microgrids" has been accepted for publication in the journal IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology.

Start of the Summer Semester 2023

The Summer Semester 2023 has officially started. During the current semester, the APS team will offer the following classes:

Please click on the corresponding links if you wish to know more details on each specific class.

Paper acceptance for journal publication in MDPI Actuators

Our paper "Dielectric Elastomer Cooperative Microactuator Systems—DECMAS" has been accepted for publication in the journal MDPI Actuators.

Paper acceptance at the conference IFAC World Congress 2023

Our papers "Energy based control of a bi-stable and underactuated soft robotic system based on dielectric elastomer actuators", "Hybrid Output Regulation of Hysteretic Actuators based on Single-Crystal Shape Memory Alloy Wires", "Multi-Objective Model-Predictive Control for Dielectric Elastomer Wave Harvesters", and "Gain-Scheduled Control of LPV Systems with Structural Constraints" have been accepted for presentation at the 22nd World Congress of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC World Congress 2023, Yokohama, Japan).

Paper acceptance for journal publication in IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics

Our paper "A Physics-Based Hybrid Dynamical Model of Hysteresis in Polycrystalline Shape Memory Alloy Wire Transducers" has been accepted for publication in the journal IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics.

Presentation in the workshop "Bi- & Multi-Stability in Soft Robots"

On April 3rd 2023, Prof. Rizzello will present the talk A bi-stable soft robotic module actuated by dielectric elastomer artificial muscles: design, characterization, modeling, and control at the 6th IEEE-RAS International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft 2023), as a part of the workshop Bi- & Multi-Stability in Soft Robots.

Please check the above links for more details.

Paper acceptance for journal publication in Wiley Advanced Functional Materials

Our paper "Laser Structuring of Thin Metal Films of Compliant Electrodes on Dielectric Elastomers" has been accepted for publication in the journal Wiley Advanced Functional Materials.

Paper acceptance at the conference SPIE Smart Structures + NDE 2023

Our papers "An Embedded Self-Sensing Motion Control System for Strip-Shaped Dielectric Elastomer Actuators", "A self-sensing approach for multi-mode dielectric elastomer actuator-loudspeaker devices", and "An energy-based model for both rate-dependent and rate-independent hysteretic effects in uniaxially-loaded dielectric elastomer actuators" have been accepted for presentation at the SPIE Smart Structures + Nondestructive Evaluation 2023 (SPIE Smart Structures + NDE 2023, Long Beach, California, United States).

Paper acceptance for journal publication in IOP Smart Materials and Structures

Our paper "An audio-tactile interface based on dielectric elastomer actuators" has been accepted for publication in the journal IOP Smart Matrials and Structures.

Open PhD positions - Application deadline 28.02.2023

Our research team is looking for candidates to work on the following 2 PhD positions:

  • Position 1: PhD Student in Modeling, Control, and Self-Sensing of Cooperative Dielectric Elastomer Micro-Actuator/-Sensor Systems Click here for details
  • Position 2: PhD Student in Design, Fabrication, and Characterization of Cooperative Dielectric Elastomer Micro-Actuator/-Sensor Systems Click here for details

The application deadline is 28.02.2023. If you're interested in applying to those positions, please follow the instructions reported in the corresponding links.

Paper acceptance for journal publication in MDPI Actuators

Our paper "A Review of Cooperative Actuator and Sensor Systems Based on Dielectric Elastomer Transducers" has been accepted for publication in the journal MDPI Actuators.

Paper acceptance for journal publication in MDPI Polymers

Our paper "Effects of Electrode Materials and Compositions on the Resistance Behavior of Dielectric Elastomer Transducers" has been accepted for publication in the journal MDPI Polymers.

Paper acceptance at the conference IEEE ONCON 2022

Our paper "Mixed H∞/H2 Control of a Soft Robotic Structure Actuated by Dielectric Elastomers" has been accepted for presentation at the 2022 IEEE Industrial Electronics Society 1st Annual On-Line Conference (ONCON 2022, virtual conferenc).

 

2022 Student Hardware Award - Third Place at the conference ASME SMASIS 2022

We're proud to announce that our paper "A Novel Compact Concept Design of an SMA Based Endoscope" has been awarded with the Best Paper Award at the ASME 2022 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems (SMASIS 2022, Dearborn, Michigan).

 

Lectures during Winter Semester 2022-2023

The Winter Semester 2022-2023 will start soon. During the current semester, the APS will offer the following classes:

Please click on the corresponding links if you wish to know more details on each specific class. 

In case you wish to attend any of those classes, please register via the corresponding links:

The MS Teams channels will be used for general communication and/or exceptional situation of online teaching, while the official lectures will be held in presence for both classes. More details will be announced over the next few weeks via the MS Teams channels.

Paper acceptance for journal publication in IOP Smart Materials and Structures

Our paper "A bi-stable soft robotic bendable module driven by silicone dielectric elastomer actuators: design, characterization, and parameter study" has been accepted for publication in the journal IOP Smart Materials and Structures.

Paper acceptance for journal publication in Springer Experimental Mechanics

Our paper "Distributed Electro‑Mechanical Coupling Effects in a Dielectric Elastomer Membrane Array" has been accepted for publication in the journal Springer Experimental Mechanics.

Paper acceptance for journal publication in IOP Smart Materials and Structures

Our paper "Finite element modeling and validation of a soft array of spatially coupled dielectric elastomer transducers" has been accepted for publication in the journal IOP Smart Materials and Structures.

Paper acceptance at the conference SMASIS 2022

Our papers "Low-Frequency Energy Harvesting Based on Bistable Dielectric Elastomer Generators" and "A Novel Compact Concept Design of an SMA Based Endoscope" have been accepted for presentation at the ASME 2022 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems (SMASIS 2022, Dearborn, Michigan, US).

Paper acceptance for journal publication in Wiley Advanced Functional Materials

Our paper "A multi-mode, multi-frequency dielectric elastomer actuator" has been accepted for publication in the journal Wiley Advanced Functional Materials.

Paper acceptance at the conference AIM 2022

Our papers "Nonlinear Optimal Control of a Soft Robotic Structure Actuated by Dielectric Elastomer Artificial Muscles", "Towards Sensorless Configuration Estimation in Multi-DoF Soft Robotic Structures Driven by Rolled Dielectric Elastomer Actuators", and "Model-Based Parameter Analysis of Dielectric Elastomer Loudspeakers" have been accepted for presentation at the 2022 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM 2022, Sapporo, Japan).

 

Start of the Summer Semester 2022

The Summer Semester 2022 has officially started. During the current semester, the APS team will offer the following classes:

Please click on the corresponding links if you wish to know more details on each specific class.

Paper acceptance at the conference MATHMOD 2022

Our papers "A linear parameter-varying modelling approach for dielectric elastomer loudspeakers", "Numerically Efficient Discrete-Time Dielectric Elastomer Actuators Models for Optimal Control", and "Multi-objective optimal control for energy extraction and lifetime maximisation in dielectric elastomer wave energy converters" have been accepted for presentation at the 10th Vienna International Conference on Mathematical Modeling (MATHMOD 2022, Vienna, Austria).

Book chapter contribution in Endorobotics

Our contribution "Smart materials for mini-actuators" has been published as a book chapter in the book Endorobotics, edited by Academic Press.

Article in Campus Extra

Our research in the field of cooperative smart material actuators has been presented in an article of Saarland University's Campus Extra.

Paper acceptance at the conference IEEE ISIE 2021

Our paper "Design and Characterization of a Fully Integrated Continuum Robot Actuated by Shape Memory Alloy Wires" has been accepted for presentation at the IEEE 17th International Workshop on Advanced Motion Control (AMC 2022, Padova, Italy).

Paper acceptance for journal publication in Elsevier Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing

Our paper "High-frequency voltage-driven vibrations in dielectric elastomer membranes" has been accepted for publication in the journal Elsevier Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing.

Paper acceptance for journal publication in IOP Smart Materials and Structures

Our paper "Modeling and experimental validation of thin, tightly rolled dielectric elastomer actuators" has been accepted for publication in the journal IOP Smart Materials and Structures.

Lectures during Winter Semester 2021-2022

The Winter Semester 2021-2022 will start soon. During the current semester, the APS will offer the following classes:

Please click on the corresponding links if you wish to know more details on each specific class. 

In case you wish to attend any of those classes, please register via the corresponding links:

The MS Teams channels will be used for general communication and/or exceptional situation of online teaching, while the official lectures will be held in presence for both classes. More details will be announced over the next few weeks via the MS Teams channels.

Paper acceptance for journal publication in MDPI Actuators

Our paper "Model-Based Design Optimization of Soft Polymeric Domes Used as Nonlinear Biasing Systems for Dielectric Elastomer Actuators" has been accepted for publication in the journal MDPI Actuators.

Paper acceptance for journal publication in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

Our paper "Nanoscale Nickel-based Thin Films as Highly Conductive Electrodes for Dielectric Elastomer Applications with Extremely High Stretchability up to 200 %" has been accepted for publication in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

© Oliver Dietze

Press release - Smart muscles and nerves made of lightweight elastomers will make the robots of the future more sentient

A press article has been published describing our research in the field of smart material-based soft robotics. You can find the article at the following link (follow the instructions in the link to find the english version of the article).

 

Paper acceptance for journal publication in Frontiers in Robotics and AI

Our paper "Fully Polymeric Domes as High-Stroke Biasing System for Soft Dielectric Elastomer Actuators" has been accepted for publication in the journal Frontiers in Robotics and AI.

Paper acceptance at the conference ASME SMASIS 2021

Our paper "Finite Element Modeling and Simulation of a Soft Array of Dielectric Elastomer Actuators" has been accepted for presentation at the ASME 2021 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems (SMASIS 2021, virtual conference).

 

 

Paper acceptance at the conference IEEE ISIE 2021

Our paper "Modeling and Validation of a High Voltage Driving Circuit for Dielectric Elastomer Actuators" has been accepted for presentation at the IEEE 30th International Symposium on Industrial Electronics (ISIE 2021, Kyoto, Japan).

Best Paper Award at the conference IEEE RoboSoft 2021

We're proud to announce that our paper "Bistable Actuation in Multi-DoF Soft Robotic Modules Driven by Rolled Dielectric Elastomer Actuators" has been awarded with the Best Paper Award at the IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft 2021, hosted by Yale University).
Congratulations to all the members of the Soft Material Robotics Team at APS, and especially to Johannes Prechtl for his great achievement!

 

Start of the Summer Semester 2021

The Summer Semester 2021 has officially started. During the current semester, the APS team will offer the following classes:

Please click on the corresponding links if you wish to know more details on each specific class.