Electroactive Polymers for Robotic Applications: Artificial Muscles and Sensors

Electroactive polymers (EAPs) respond to electrical stimulation with large deformations. They are dynamic actuators which have interested an interdisciplinary audience of engineers and scientists. An enabling EAP technology is emerging which attempts to imitate the properties of natural muscle and which can perform a unique function in a variety of biologically-inspired robotics applications.

This book covers the properties, modelling and demonstration of EAPs in robotic applications, focusing on artificial muscles and sensors. Ionic Polymer–Metal Composite Actuators and Dielectric Elastomers are discussed with chapters on their properties and their uses in robotics applications.

With its concentration on devices based on EAPs and their uses, this book will interest researchers working within the field as well as postgraduate students studying robotics or smart materials and structures. Practitioners working in the mechanical, electrical and materials industries will also find this book of value.

Dr Kwang Kim is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Active Materials and Processing Laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). He graduated in 1987 from Yonsei University, Korea, and received his MS and PhD from Arizona State University in 1989 and 1992, respectively. He later completed his postdoctoral study at the Center for Environmental Energy Engineering (CEEE) at the University of Maryland-College Park (1993-1995). His industrial experience includes time as a Senior Research Engineer at Thermal Electric Devices, Inc. (1995-1997), and as the Chief Scientist at Environmental Robots, Inc. (1997-2001), Albuquerque NM. He has published over 130 technical papers and holds 2 patents. His research and teaching interests are broad-based, but mainly relate to active materials/sensors, thermal science/energy systems, and nanotechnology.

Dr Satoshi Tadokoro is President of the International Rescue System Institute, in Kobe, Japan. He is also a Professor in the Department of Computer and Systems Engineering at Kobe University, where he has been employed for over twenty years. He teaches about actuator theory, mechatronics and intelligent machine theory. Dr Tadokoro gained his MS and his PhD in Engineering from the University of Tokyo. His research interests include rescue robots, and robotics and actuators.