Wire frame drive unit ofa SMA-based 3D shape display

SMA을 이용한 3차원 형상제시기의 와이어프레임 구동 유닛

This research proposes a novel method of shape display to present 3-dimensional objects. Shape displays allow us to feel the actual volume of the object, unlike conventional 2D visual displays of 3D objects. The proposed method employs a wire frame structure to present 3D objects. The wire frame is composed of small units driven by shape memory alloy(SMA) actuators. The drive unit is analogous to the agonist-antagonist system of animal musculoskeletal systems, where the SMA actuators serve as agonist and antagonist muscles. The force in the SMA actuator is controlled by electrical current. The drive unit is equipped with the locking mechanism so that it can sustain the external force exerted by the user as well as the own weight of the wire frame structure. By controlling the current into the SMA actuator and locking mechanism, we call control the angle of the drive unit. A chain of drive units enables presentation of 2 dimensional objects. 3 dimensional presentations are possible by collecting the chains of drive units.