Power Electronics Design Choice for Piezoelectric Microrobots

Piezoelectric actuators are advantageous for microrobots due to their light weight, high bandwidth, high force production, low power consumption, and simplicity of integration. However, the main disadvantage of either stack or cantilever piezoelectric actuators are the high drive voltages required for adequate force and displacement. This especially limits the ability for such actuators to be used in autonomous microrobots because of the weight and complexity of necessary power electronics. This paper approaches the design of all the component parts of an autonomous piezoelectric robot as a linear constraint on the weight and efficiency of those components. It then focuses on the choice and optimization of the power electronics section of the robot, specifically exploring three different high voltage generation methods. Finally, one of these power electronics designs is implemented and its behavior is experimentally explored