Light-actuated CNT-doped elastomer blisters towards braille dots

This paper reports novel opto-actuated Braille dots based on liquid crystal polymer - carbon nanotube (LC-CNT) composite and silicon mold microstamping. The manufacturing approach succeeds in producing blisters with similar dimensions to the Braille standard for the visually impaired, by taking shear-aligned LC-CNT films and silicon stamps. The proposed technique establishes a starting point for developing other types of actuators that require a specific three-dimensional structure. The actuator concept, fabrication details and performance evaluation are presented.