17 research outputs found
Multifunctional shape memory electrodes for dielectric elastomer actuators enabling high holding force and low-voltage multisegment addressing
Collateral damage from college drinking: A conceptual framework for alcohol’s harms to others among US college students
A liquid progressive multifocal lens adjusted by the deformation of a non-uniform elastic membrane due to the variation of liquid pressure
Smart Lenses with Electrically Tuneable Astigmatism
The holy grail of reconfigurable optics for microscopy, machine vision and other imaging technologies is a compact, in-line, low cost, refractive device that could dynamically tune optical aberrations within a range of about 2–5 wavelengths. This paper presents the first electrically reconfigurable, fully elastomeric, tuneable optical lenses with motor-less electrical controllability of astigmatism in the visible range. By applying different voltage combinations to thin dielectric elastomer actuator segments surrounding a soft silicone lens, we show that the latter can be electrically deformed either radially or along selectable directions, so as to tune defocus or astigmatism, up to about 3 wavelengths. By mounting the new lenses on a commercial camera, we demonstrate their functionality, showing how electrically reconfiguring their shape can be used to dynamically control directional blurring while taking images of different targets, so as to emphasize directional features having orthogonal spatial orientations. Results suggest that the possibility of electrically controlling aberrations inherent to these smart lenses holds promise to develop highly versatile new components for adaptive optics.Published versio