We successfully integrated dielectric elastomer switches (DESs) with dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) on one flexible dielectric elastomer (DE) membrane via spray painting. The actuator can generate an in-plane compression in the direction of DES, leading to a dramatic reduction in the electric resistance of the switch; while the electric resistance changes back to its initial value when the actuator is off. Therefore, the resultant component exhibits piezoresistive properties and can be further used as DE inverters. This entirely soft inverter can be potentially applied to develop biomimetic robotics in terms of driving, controlling, monitoring, sensing, and self-regulation.
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