Self-Propulsion of a Capsule on a Lubricated Surface Driven by Piezoelectric Actuators

This paper studies the self-propulsion of a capsule. The self-propulsion is achieved with piezoelectric actuators using the impact mechanism. The capsule is moving on a lubricated surface with an interaction force similar to that of a viscous liquid. It is shown that nonlinearity in the interaction force results in net displacement of the capsule when piezoelectric electric actuator is periodically excited.