A drive element includes: a fixing part; an oscillating plate connected to the fixing part and having a movable part configured to rotate about a rotation axis; and a drive part placed on the oscillating plate and configured to drive the oscillating plate. The oscillating plate contains a first material having a positive linear expansion coefficient and a second material having a negative linear expansion coefficient.

An optical device includes: a piezoelectric element of a sheet shape; a restriction section attached to the piezoelectric element, the restriction section configured to restrict a movable area in the piezoelectric element to a polygonal predetermined region; an optical element attached to the movable area of the piezoelectric element; and a plurality of electrodes disposed on the piezoelectric element, the plurality of electrodes configured to be applied with voltage independently, wherein: the electrodes are disposed at adjacent two comers in the movable area; and the piezoelectric element expands and contracts based on voltage applied to the electrodes in a manner that a periphery of the corner where the electrode is disposed in the movable area expands and contracts in multiple directions including two directions along two sides forming the corner.

A two-axis angular pointing device includes a pivot bearing configured to support a payload. A first actuator is positioned to contact the payload at a first drive point. A second actuator is positioned to contact the payload at a second drive point. The first actuator is configured to generate a first movement of the payload in a direction substantially orthogonal to a plane defined by a center of the pivot bearing, the first drive point, and the second drive point to cause the payload to rotate around a first rotation axis. The second actuator is configured to generate a second movement of the payload at the second drive point in the direction substantially orthogonal to the plane to cause the payload to rotate around a second rotation axis. A method of making a two-axis angular pointing device is also disclosed.

A micromechanical component, including an adjustable part that is connected, at least via springs, to the mounting, and an actuator device with which a first oscillating motion of the adjustable part is excitable about a first rotational axis and at the same time a second oscillating motion of the adjustable part is excitable about a second rotational axis. The actuator device includes four piezoelectric bending actuators, and the adjustable part is settable into the first oscillating motion and/or into the second oscillating motion by deformation of the four piezoelectric bending actuators, and each of the four piezoelectric bending actuators at its first end is anchored to the mounting, and the adjustable part is suspended, at least via the springs, on the four piezoelectric bending actuators.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) apparatus includes an airframe, a plurality of spherical motors carried by the airframe, and a plurality of rotatable propellers each being carried by one of the spherical motors.

A linear or rotary table is provided which can be moved in two dimensions having a stator and at least one upper slider plate movable relative to the stator in two independent translational directions or two independent rotary directions, and at least two piezoelectric linear drives for moving the upper slider plate in the two translational directions or two rotary directions, wherein a central slider plate is arranged between the stator and the upper slider plate, and the at least two piezoelectric linear drives are each attached to the stator to move the upper slider plate in the two translational directions or two rotary directions, and wherein at least one piezoelectric linear drive attached to the stator is in contact with the upper slider plate through an opening in the central slider plate to move the upper slider plate in a first translational direction or a first rotary direction.

A drive element is a drive element for rotating a movable part about a rotation axis, the drive element including: a fixation part rotatably supporting the movable part; and a drive part configured to rotate the movable part, wherein the drive part includes a piezoelectric layer, an upper electrode and a lower electrode placed with the piezoelectric layer interposed therebetween, and an insulating layer covering the piezoelectric layer, the upper electrode, and the lower electrode, and a wiring part composed of a single conductive layer connected to the upper electrode via a contact hole formed in the insulating layer is installed up to the fixation part.

A compact and robust microelectromechanical reflector system that comprises a support, a reflector, a peripheral edge of the reflector including edge points, and suspenders including piezoelectric actuators and suspending the reflector from the support. Two pairs of suspenders are fixed from two fixing points to the support such that in each pair of suspenders, first ends of a pair of suspenders are fixed to a fixing point common to the pair. A first axis of rotation is aligned to a line running though the two fixing points, and divides the reflector to a first reflector part and a second reflector part. In each pair of suspenders, a second end of one suspender is coupled to the first reflector part and a second end of the other suspender is coupled to the second reflector part.

A piezoelectric drive device includes a vibrating body, a support portion formed integrally with the vibrating body, and a piezoelectric element formed of a first electrode film, a piezoelectric body film, and a second electrode film on at least one surface of the vibrating body.

A monolithic, bulk piezoelectric actuator includes a bulk piezoelectric substrate having a starting top surface and an opposing starting bottom surface and a at least two electrodes operatively disposed on the bulk piezoelectric substrate consisting of at least two discrete electrodes disposed on either/both of the starting top surface and the starting bottom surface and at least one electrode disposed on the respective other starting bottom surface or starting top surface. A stage includes a base, at least two of the monolithic, bulk piezoelectric actuators disposed on the base, a movable platform disposed on the base, and a respective number of deformable connectors each having a first connection to a respective one of the piezoelectric actuators and a second connection to a respective portion of the movable platform. A method for monolithically making a monolithic, bulk piezoelectric actuator involves a direct write micropatterning technique.