As a new type of electroactive polymer

dielectric elastomer can be deformed when excited by an electric field

and can be restored to its original state when the electric field is cancelled. It has the characteristic of converting electrical energy directly into mechanical energy. By designing them as actuators with different configurations

it is possible to increase the deformability and meet different application requirements. In this paper

the actuation mechanism of dielectric elastomer actuators is introduced

and it is clarified that they are linear actuators capable of generating motion in a straight line manner. On this basis

actuators of different configurations can be designed. Dielectric elastomer actuators with different structure designs are summarized

and their performance characteristics

processing technology and potential applications are discussed.