Soft Plastic Robots and Artificial Muscles

Abstract

Ionic polymeric materials suitably made into a functionally-graded composite with a conductor such as a metal, graphite or synthetic metal such as conductive polymers that act as a distributed electrode can exhibit large dynamic deformation if placed in a time-varying electric field (see Fig.s 1and 2) [Shahinpoor 1992, 1993, Adolf, Shahinpoor, Segalman and Witkowski, 1993]. A recent book by Shahinpoor, Kim and Mojarrad (2004) and 4 fundamental review papers by Shahinpoor and Kim (2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005 ) presents a thorough coverage of the existing knowledge in connection with ionic polymeric cond uctor composites (IPCC?s) including ionic polymeric metal composites (IPMC?s) as biomimetic distributed nanosensors, nanoactuators and artificial muscles and electrically controllable polymeric network structures. Furthermore, in reference [Shahinpoor, Kim and Mojarrad, 2004], methods of fabrication of several electrically and chemically active ionic polymeric gel muscles such as polyacrylonitrile (PAN), poly(2- acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propane sulfonic) acid (PAMPS), and polyacrylic-acid-bis-acrylamide (PAAM) as well as a new class of electrically active composite muscle such as Ionic Polymeric Conductor Composites (IPCC?s) or Ionic Polymer Metal Composites (IPMC?s) made with perfluorinated sulfonic or carboxylic ionic membranes (chlor-alkali family) are introduced and investigated that have resulted in seven US patents regarding their fabrication and application capabilities as distributed biomimetic nanoactuators, nanotransducers, nanorobots and nanosensors. Theories and numerical simulations associated with ionic polymer gels electrodynamics and chemodynamics are also discussed, analyzed and modeled for the manufactured material.