Electroactive Polymer Eap Actuators As Artificial Muscles

Covers the field of EAP with attention to all aspects and full infrastructure, including the available materials, analytical models, processing techniques, and characterization methods. This second edition covers advances in EAP in electric EAP, electroactive polymer gels, ionomeric polymer-metal composites, and carbon nanotube actuators.

The 27 peer-reviewed papers collected here together offer a plenitude of up-to-date information on “Artificial Muscle Actuators using Electroactive Polymers”. The papers are conveniently arranged into the chapters: 1: Materials; 2: Analysis, physical mechanisms and characterization; 3: Devices and applications. This special volume has also been published online in the series, “Advances in Science and Technology” Vol. 61.

This book covers the fundamental properties, modeling, and demonstration of Electroactive polymers in robotic applications. It particularly details artificial muscles and sensors. In addition, the book discusses the properties and uses in robotics applications of ionic polymer–metal composite actuators and dielectric elastomers.

Giving fundamental information on one of the most promising families of smart materials, electroactive polymers (EAP) this exciting new titles focuses on the several biomedical applications made possible by these types of materials and their related actuation technologies. Each chapter provides a description of the specific EAP material and device configuration used, material processing, device assembling and testing, along with a description of the biomedical application. Edited by well-respected academics in the field of electroactive polymers with contributions from renowned international experts, this is an excellent resource for industrial and academic research scientists, engineers, technicians and graduate students working with polymer actuators or in the fields of polymer science.

This book covers the fundamental properties, modeling, and demonstration of Electroactive polymers in robotic applications. It particularly details artificial muscles and sensors. In addition, the book discusses the properties and uses in robotics applications of ionic polymer–metal composite actuators and dielectric elastomers.

Biomimetic Robotic Artificial Muscles presents a comprehensive up-to-date overview of several types of electroactive materials with a view of using them as biomimetic artificial muscles. The purpose of the book is to provide a focused, in-depth, yet self-contained treatment of recent advances made in several promising EAP materials. In particular, ionic polymer-metal composites, conjugated polymers, and dielectric elastomers are considered. Manufacturing, physical characterization, modeling, and control of the materials are presented. Namely, the book adopts a systems perspective to integrate recent developments in material processing, actuator design, control-oriented modeling, and device and robotic applications. While the main focus is on the new developments in these subjects, an effort has been made throughout the book to provide the reader with general, basic information about the materials before going into more advanced topics. As a result, the book is very much self-contained and expected to be accessible for a reader who does not have background in EAPs. Based on the good fundamental knowledge and the versatility of the materials, several promising biomimetic and robotic applications such robotic fish propelled by an IPMC tail, an IPMC energy harvester, an IPMC-based valveless pump, a conjugated polymer petal-driven micropump, and a synthetic elastomer actuator-enabled robotic finger are demonstrated. Contents:IntroductionPhysical Principles of Ionic Polymer-Metal CompositesNew IPMC Materials and MechanismsA Systems Perspective on Modeling of Ionic Polymer-Metal CompositesConjugated Polymer Actuators: Modeling and ControlSynthetic Dielectric Elastomer MaterialsDielectric Elastomer ActuatorIntegrated Sensory Feedback for EAP ActuatorsDevice and Robotic Applications of EAPs Readership: Graduate students, academics and professionals in the field of materials engineering and robotics. Keywords:Artificial Muscles;Biomimetics;Robotics;Electroactive Polymers;EAPs;Ionic Polymer-Metal Composites;IPMCs;Dielectric Elastomers;Conjugated Polymer Actuators;Soft Actuators;Sensors;Synthetic Elastomers;Modeling;Control;PVDF

By the dawn of the new millennium, robotics has undergone a major tra- formation in scope and dimensions. This expansion has been brought about bythematurityofthe?eldandtheadvancesinitsrelatedtechnologies.From a largely dominant industrial focus, robotics has been rapidly expanding into the challenges of the human world. The new generation of robots is expected to safely and dependably co-habitat with humans in homes, workplaces, and communities,providingsupportinservices,entertainment,education,heal- care, manufacturing, and assistance. Beyond its impact on physical robots, the body of knowledge robotics has produced is revealing a much wider range of applications reaching across - verse research areas and scienti?c disciplines, such as: biomechanics, haptics, neurosciences, virtual simulation, animation, surgery, and sensor networks among others. In return, the challenges of the new emerging areas are pr- ing an abundant source of stimulation and insights for the ?eld of robotics. It is indeed at the intersection of disciplines that the most striking advances happen. The goal of the series of Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics (STAR) is to bring, in a timely fashion, the latest advances and developments in robotics on the basis of their signi?cance and quality. It is our hope that the wider dissemination of research developments will stimulate more exchanges and collaborations among the research community and contribute to further advancement of this rapidly growing ?eld.