Shree Mouni Vidhyapeeth’s

Institute of Civil and Rural Engineering, Gargoti

A
MicroProject Report

UnderTheCourse

Emerging Trends in Computer and Information Technology(22618)

WithTitle

“Actuators In IOT”

Submitted by

Swadesh Prakash Farakte

Rakesh Ramchandra Patil

Under the Guidance of

Mr.S. G. Mane

In Partial Fulfilment of

Diploma in Computer Engineering

Academic Year : 2024-25

 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the Micro project entitled “Actuator In IOT” under the course of “ETI (22618)”

submitted to the Institute of Civil and Rural Engineering, Gargoti in partial fulfillment of Diploma in

Computer Engineering is a record of original work done by Swadesh, Rakesh during the period from

2024 to 2025 under the supervision and guidance of Mr. S. G. Mane and it has not copied or

submitted with other similar title by any candidates in this Diploma College.

Signature Signature Signature

Project Guide Head of the Department Principal
 DECLARATION

We all hereby Swadesh , Rakesh declares that the Micro Project submitted to the Institute of
Civil and Rural Engineering, Gargoti in partial fulfillment of Diploma in Computer
Engineering done in the period of 2024 to 2025 under the supervision and guidance of Mr. S.
G. Mane. The project has not copied or submitted with other similar title by an any candidate
in this diploma college

Date:

Place: Gargoti Signature of Candidate Sign

03. Swadesh Prakash Farakte

17.Rakesh Ramchandra Patil

 Maharashtra State Board of Technical Education

Certificate

This is to certify that. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Roll No of

fifth semester of Diploma in Computer Engineering from Institute Civil & Rural Engineering
(code : 0012) has completed the micro project work satisfactorily in course ETI (22618) For the
academic year 2024-2025 as prescribed in the curriculum.

Title: “Actuators In IOT”

Date: EnrollmentNo.:

Place: ExamSeat:
 Index

Sr. No Contents

1. Introduction

2. What is Actuators

3. Types of Actuators

4. Relation Actuators And Sensor

5. Examples and applications Actuators

 1. Introduction

An actuator in the context of the Internet of Things (IoT) is a device or component responsible for
carrying out physical actions based on commands received from other devices or systems. Essentially,
actuators are responsible for turning digital signals into physical movement or actions, allowing the IoT
system to interact with the physical world.

IoT actuators are mechanical or electromechanical devices that turn energy into motion. They combine
electrical signals with energy sources, ultimately manipulating the physical world around them.

Actuators can open doors, close windows, raise blinds, or move objects to their intended positions. But
how do IoT actuators work and what are the applications of actuators in IoT? That’s a several-step
process

2. What is Actuator

•An actuator is a component of a machine or system that moves or controls the mechanism or the
system.

• An actuator is the mechanism by which a control system acts upon an environment An actuator
requires a control signal and a source of energy.

• Upon receiving a control signal is received, the actuator responds by converting the energy into
mechanical motion.

• The control system can be simple (a fixed mechanical or electronic system), software-based (e.g. a
printer driver, robot control system), a human, or any other input.
3. Types of Actuator

 3.1 Hydraulic Actuators:

Hydraulic actuator definition is, a device that is used to change the fluid’s pressure energy into
mechanical is known as a hydraulic actuator. The hydraulic actuator includes a cylinder or a fluid
motor that works through hydraulic power for mechanical operation. The mechanical motion provides
an output in the form of rotary, linear otherwise oscillatory motion. When liquids are almost unfeasible
to compress, then a hydraulic actuator uses a large force.

The Hydraulic actuator working principle is, it uses liquid pressure to work instead of instrument air
pressure to provide a force on the diaphragm to move the valve actuator, then to the stem of the
position valve. Almost all types of hydraulic actuators use a piston instead of a diaphragm for changing
liquid pressure into mechanical power.
  3.2 Pneumatic Actuators:

A pneumatic actuator converts energy formed by vacuum or compressed air at high pressure into either
linear or rotary motion. Pneumatic rack and pinion actuators are used for valve controls of water pipes.
Pneumatic energy quickly responds to starting and stopping signals. The power source does not need to
be stored in reserve for operation. Pneumatic actuators enable large forces to be produced from
relatively small pressure changes (e.g., Pneumatic brakes can are very responsive to small changes in
pressure applied by the driver). It is responsible for converting pressure into force.

Pneumatic actuators are devices that convert the energy of compressed air or gas into a mechanical motion that
regulates one or more final control elements. They are used as a form of automation control to reduce mandatory
human interaction with a system’s internal mechanisms, which is particularly beneficial for automatic
modulation and emergency shutdowns.

Pneumatic actuators differ from linear designs in that torque is generated as opposed to a linear motion.
This can be accomplished by transferring the linear motion of a piston to a rotating component, or vice
versa. Pneumatic actuators are devices that convert the energy of compressed air or gas into a
mechanical motion that regulates one or more final control elements.
  3.3 Electric Actuators:

An electric motor will create rotary motion as the spindle, or rotor, rotates. The motor spindle is directly coupled
to a helical screw, via the drive shaft, which in turn rotates in a ball screw nut.

The motor is controlled by an electric drive, which allows the rotation speed to be varied and, hence, the linear
speed of the actuator. A feedback mechanism gives positional information and the linear actuator can be
programmed to move to a certain position, stop and then move on, or return to its rest position.

The food and beverage industry, for production of PET bottles, filling and labelling systems and robotic
applications such as milking robots. An electric actuator is generally powered by a motor that converts
electrical energy into mechanical torque. The electrical energy is used to actuate equipment such as
solenoid valves which control the flow of water in pipes in response to electrical signals. Considered
as one of the cheapest, cleanest and speedy actuator types available.

 3.4 Thermal Actuator:

A thermal actuator, also known as a wax motor, is a linear actuator device that uses the phase change
properties of paraffin wax to convert thermal energy into a mechanical force. ThermOmegaTech’s
thermal actuators utilize our proprietary Thermoloid wax-blend material. Since this material operates in
the solid and liquid phase, both of which are nearly incompressible, load changes within the actuator’s
design parameters on the piston have little or no effect on actuating temperature.

In contrast, vapor-filled or liquid-to-vapor phase change devices are typically sensitive to load
changes. Altering the load, such as adjusting spring tension, is a common method to modify the
operating temperature range in these devices.

The thermal actuator contains our Thermoloid waxblend material, that undergoes a phase change within a
specific temperature range. When the temperature rises past the melting point of the wax, it transitions from
solid to liquid, significantly expanding in volume. Encased within a rigid housing, this incompressible material
ensures that only the piston can extend and move as its volume expands. The piston can then act upon a valve
stem, lever or any other mechanical device
  3.5 Magnetic Actuator:

A magnetic actuator, which uses the micro electromechanical systems, is a device that allows for
electric currents in machines to be used to move the various components within the machine. Using
both a control system and a source of energy they can move and control systems or mechanisms, such
as opening a valve. There are different types of magnetic actuators, including both linear and rotary,
and they can have different types of motion, including limited or continuous.
Magnetic actuators are used for a variety of different machines, covering a wide range of industries.
These devices are most commonly used in the healthcare, industrial, automotive, aerospace, and
computer industries. Many of these industries rely heavily on the use of electrical machines .
4. Relation Actuator And Sensor

A sensor acts as the "information gatherer" by detecting physical changes in the environment and
converting them into electrical signals, while an actuator acts as the "doer" by receiving those electrical
signals from the sensor and translating them into physical actions, essentially performing a task based
on the sensed data; they work together as a pair to create a feedback loop in a system, with the sensor
providing input and the actuator making the necessary adjustments.

Sensors are hardware devices that measure physical parameters from the environment
(e.g., temperature or humidity) or from other systems (e.g., a current meter). Actuators are hardware
devices that carry out actions based on IoT requests (e.g., any device that can be turned on or off).
Usually, these are small devices with limited resources, and in the simplest cases the needed processing
capabilities may be achieved using a small microcontroller without an operating system.

When more complex capabilities are needed small operating systems designed specifically for these
kind of systems, such as Contiki, Tiny OS, and Free RTOS, are used . There exist a vast number of
different types of sensors and actuators, these may have different sensed physical parameters,
communication and human interfaces, and in some cases they may be also “smart”.

Sensors capture data and collect information from the environment, while actuators are responsible for
transforming electrical signals into tangible actions. Sensors collect information in real-time, which in
turn enables the interconnection among physical devices and digital networks .
5.Examples and applications Actuators

In engineering, actuators are frequently used as mechanisms to introduce motion, or to clamp an object
so as to prevent motion. In electronic engineering, actuators are a subdivision of transducers. They are
devices which transform an input signal (mainly an electrical signal) into some form of motion.

 5.1Examples of actuators

1. Electric Motor

An electric current is a flow of charged particles, such as electrons or ions, moving through
an electrical conductor or space. It is defined as the net rate of flow of electric charge through a
surface. The moving particles are called charge carriers, which may be one of several types of
particles, depending on the conductor. In electric circuits the charge often electrons moving
through a wire. In semiconductors they can be electrons or holes. In an electrolyte the charge
carriers are ions, while in plasma, an ionized gas, they are ions and electrons.

Electric motors can be powered by direct current (DC) sources, such as from batteries
or rectifiers, or by alternating current (AC) sources, such as a power grid, inverters or electrical
generators.Electric motors may be classified by considerations such as power source type,
construction, application and type of motion output. They can be brushed or brushless, single-
phase, two-phase, or three-phase, axial or radial flux, and may be air-cooled or liquid-cooled.

Electric motors produce linear or rotary force (torque) intended to propel some external
mechanism. This makes them a type of actuator. They are generally designed for continuous
rotation, or for linear movement over a significant distance compared to its size. Solenoids also
convert electrical power to mechanical motion, but over only a limited distance.
2. Stepper Motor

A stepper motor, also known as step motor or stepping motor,[1] is a brushless DC electric
motor that rotates in a series of small and discrete angular steps. [2] Stepper motors can be set to
any given step position without needing a position sensor for feedback. The step position can be
rapidly increased or decreased to create continuous rotation, or the motor can be ordered to
actively hold its position at one given step. Motors vary in size, speed, step resolution,
and torque.

tepper motors effectively have multiple "toothed" electromagnets arranged as a stator around a
central rotor, a gear-shaped piece of iron. The electromagnets are energized by an
external driver circuit or a micro controller. To make the motor shaft turn, one electromagnet is
first given power, which magnetically attracts the gear's teeth. When the gear's teeth are aligned
to the first electromagnet, they are slightly offset from the next electromagnet.

This means that when the next electromagnet is turned on and the first is turned off, the gear
rotates slightly to align with the next one. From there the process is repeated. Each of the partial
rotations is called a "step", with an integer number of steps making a full rotation. In that way,
the motor can be turned by a precise angle.

The circular arrangement of electromagnets is divided into groups, each group called a phase,
and there is an equal number of electromagnets per group. The number of groups is chosen by
the designer of the stepper motor. The electromagnets of each group are interleaved with the
electromagnets of other groups to form a uniform pattern of arrangement.

Electromagnets within the same group are all energized together. Because of this, stepper
motors with more phases typically have more wires (or leads) to control the motor. Switched
reluctance motors are very large stepping motors with a reduced pole count. They generally
employ closed-loop commutators.
3. Digital micromirror device

The digital micromirror device, or DMD, is the microoptoelectromechanical system (MOEMS)

that is the core of the trademarked Digital Light Processing (DLP) projection technology
from Texas Instruments (TI). The device is used in digital projectors and consists of an array of
millions of microscopic mirrors which can be individually tilted many thousand times per
second, thereby creating the pixels of the projected images.

The mirrors themselves are made of aluminum and are around 16 micrometers across. Each
mirror is mounted on a yoke which in turn is connected to two support posts by
compliant torsion hinges. In this type of hinge, the axle is fixed at both ends and twists in the
middle. Because of the small scale, hinge fatigue is not a problem, and tests have shown that
even 1 trillion (1012) operations do not cause noticeable damage. Tests have also shown that the
hinges cannot be damaged by normal shock and vibration, since it is absorbed by the DMD
superstructure.
Two pairs of electrodes control the position of the mirror by electrostatic attraction. Each pair
has one electrode on each side of the hinge, with one of the pairs positioned to act on the yoke
and the other acting directly on the mirror. The majority of the time, equal bias charges are
applied to both sides simultaneously. Instead of flipping to a central position as one might
expect, this actually holds the mirror in its current position. This is because the attraction force
on the side the mirror that is already tilted towards is greater since that side is closer to the
electrodes.
To move the mirrors, the required state is first loaded into an SRAM cell located beneath each
pixel, which is also connected to the electrodes. Once all the SRAM cells have been loaded, the
bias voltage is removed, allowing the charges from the SRAM cell to prevail, moving the
mirror. When the bias is restored, the mirror is once again held in position, and the next
required movement can be loaded into the memory cell.

The bias system is used because it reduces the voltage levels required to address the pixels such
that they can be driven directly from the SRAM cell, and also because the bias voltage can be
removed at the same time for the whole chip, so every mirror moves at the same instant. The
advantages of the latter are more accurate timing and a more cinematic moving image.
4. Comb-drives

Comb-drives are micro electromechanical actuators, often used as linear actuators, which
utilize electrostatic forces that act between two electrically conductive combs. Comb drive
actuators typically operate at the micro- or nanometer scale and are generally manufactured
by bulk micromachining or surface micromachining a silicon wafer substrate.

The attractive electrostatic forces are created when a voltage is applied between the static and
moving combs causing them to be drawn together. The force developed by the actuator is
proportional to the change in capacitance between the two combs, increasing with driving
voltage, the number of comb teeth, and the gap between the teeth.
The combs are arranged so that they never touch (because then there would be no voltage
difference). Typically the teeth are arranged so that they can slide past one another until each
tooth occupies the slot in the opposite comb.
Restoring springs, levers, and crankshafts can be added if the motor's linear operation is to be
converted to rotation or other motions.The force can be derived by first starting with the energy
stored in a capacitor and then differentiating in the direction of the force. The energy in a
capacitor is given by

Comb drives cannot scale to large gap distances (equivalently actuation distance), since
development of effective forces at large gaps distances would require high voltages—therefore
limited by electrical breakdown. More importantly, limitations imposed by gap distance limits
the actuation distance.

Qualitative depiction of the electric-field lines between the fingers of a comb-drive actuator.
There are four different types of fields that have a distinct impact on the actuation in the work-
energy picture of actuation. The field lines that connect the vertical sides of the fingers (blue)
and those that connect the top sides of the fingers (red) are associated with the component of the
force that tends to align the fingers.
 5.electroactive polymer

An electroactive polymer (EAP) is a polymer that exhibits a change in size or shape when
stimulated by an electric field. The most common applications of this type of material are
in actuators[1] and sensors.[2][3] A typical characteristic property of an EAP is that they will undergo
a large amount of deformation while sustaining large forces.

The majority of historic actuators are made of ceramic piezoelectric materials. While these
materials are able to withstand large forces, they commonly will only deform a fraction of a
percent. In the late 1990s, it has been demonstrated that some EAPs can exhibit up to a
380% strain, which is much more than any ceramic actuator. [1] One of the most common
applications for EAPs is in the field of robotics in the development of artificial muscles; thus, an
electroactive polymer is often referred to as an artificial muscle.

The field of EAPs emerged back in 1880, when Wilhelm Röntgen designed an experiment in which
he tested the effect of an electrostatic field on the mechanical properties of a stripe of natural
rubber.[4] The rubber stripe was fixed at one end and was attached to a mass at the other. Electric
charges were then sprayed onto the rubber, and it was observed that the length changed. It was in
1925 that the first piezoelectric polymer was discovered (Electret). Electret was formed by
combining carnauba wax, rosin and beeswax, and then cooling the solution while it is subject to an
applied DC electrical bias. The mixture would then solidify into a polymeric material that exhibited
a piezoelectric effect.

Polymers that respond to environmental conditions, other than an applied electric current, have also
been a large part of this area of study. In 1949 Katchalsky et al. demonstrated that
when collagen filaments are dipped in acid or alkali solutions, they would respond with a change
in volume.[5] The collagen filaments were found to expand in an acidic solution and contract in
an alkali solution. Although other stimuli (such as pH) have been investigated, due to its ease and
practicality most research has been devoted to developing polymers that respond to electrical
stimuli in order to mimic biological systems.
6. Plasma actuators

Plasma actuators are a type of actuator currently being developed for active aerodynamic flow
control. Plasma actuators impart force in a similar way to ionocraft. Plasma flow control has
drawn considerable attention and been used in boundary layer acceleration, airfoil separation
control, forebody separation control, turbine blade separation control, axial compressor stability
extension, heat transfer and high-speed jet control.

arrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuators are widely utilized in airflow control
applications.[2] DBD is a type of electrical discharge commonly used in
various electrohydrodynamic (EHD) applications.[1]
In DBDs, the emitter electrode is connected to a high-voltage source and exposed to the
surrounding air, while the collector electrode is grounded and encapsulated within the dielectric
material (see figure). When activated, they form a low-temperature plasma between
the electrodes by application of a high-voltage AC signal across the electrodes. Consequently,
air molecules from the air surrounding the emitter electrode are ionized, and are accelerated
towards the counter electrode through the electric field. [1]

Plasma actuators operating at the atmospheric conditions are promising for flow control, mainly
for their physical properties, such as the induced body force by a strong electric field and the
generation of heat during an electric arc, and the simplicity of their constructions and
placements.[3] In particular, the recent invention of glow discharge plasma actuators by Roth
(2003)[4] that can produce sufficient quantities of glow discharge plasma in the atmosphere
pressure air helps to yield an increase in flow control performance.

The driving waveforms can be optimized to achieve a better actuation (induced flow speed).
However, a sinusoidal waveform may be preferable for the simplicity in power supply
construction. The additional benefit is the relatively less electromagnetic interference. Pulse-
width modulation can be adopted to instantaneously adjust the strength of actuation
5. Conclusion
Actuators are a vital component of IoT systems because they enable physical changes in the
environment based on digital signals. They bridge the gap between the digital world (software, sensors,
data) and the physical world (machines, devices, environments), making IoT systems actionable and
responsive.Actuators are used in smart home systems to control lighting, thermostats, and window
blinds, in industrial automation to manage machinery and production processes, and in healthcare
devices for precise adjustments.

Actuators are the key element that bridges the gap between the digital world of IoT data and the
physical world, allowing for controlled manipulation of devices and environments based on sensor
inputs, making them essential for realizing the full potential of IoT technology.

An actuator is a device that . It does this by taking an electrical signal and combining it with an energy
source. In an IoT system, the actuator can act on data collected by sensors to create an outcome as
determined by the chosen settings of the user.