Bistable mechanisms are prevalent across a broad spectrum of applications due to their ability to maintain two distinct stable states. Their energy consumption is predominantly confined to the process of state transitions, thereby enhancing their efficiency. However, the transition often requires two distinct digital inputs, implicating the requirement of multiple actuators. Here, we propose an elastic and contactless design strategy for inducing state transitions in bistable mechanisms, requiring only a single digital input. The strategy leverages internal information, interpreted as system state, as an extra input to make a weighted decision for transitioning to the subsequent state. We characterize the behavior using a spring-based rigid-body model, consisting of a column near bifurcation, combined with a non-linear spring connected to a bistable element that represents the information state. The results show that a nonlinear spring with a quadratic stiffness function, i.e., representing internal instability, is crucial for regulating state-switching behavior. We then demonstrate this design strategy by developing a monolithic and compliant design embodiment and experimentally evaluate its behavior.

中文翻译：

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利用内部不稳定性的单输入状态切换构建块

双稳态机制由于能够维持两种不同的稳定状态，因此在广泛的应用中普遍存在。它们的能量消耗主要局限于状态转换过程，从而提高了效率。然而，转换通常需要两个不同的数字输入，这意味着需要多个执行器。在这里，我们提出了一种弹性和非接触式设计策略，用于在双稳态机制中引发状态转换，仅需要单个数字输入。该策略利用解释为系统状态的内部信息作为额外输入来做出过渡到后续状态的加权决策。我们使用基于弹簧的刚体模型来描述行为，该模型由接近分叉的柱子以及连接到表示信息状态的双稳态元件的非线性弹簧组成。结果表明，具有二次刚度函数（即代表内部不稳定性）的非线性弹簧对于调节状态切换行为至关重要。然后，我们通过开发整体且兼容的设计实施例来演示该设计策略，并通过实验评估其行为。