Zipping and gripping: integrating small actuations for big problems

Jonathan M. Rossiter

doi:10.1117/12.2585759

22 March 2021 Zipping and gripping: integrating small actuations for big problems

Jonathan M. Rossiter

Proceedings Volume 11587, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) XXIII; 115871G (2021) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2585759
Event: SPIE Smart Structures + Nondestructive Evaluation, 2021, Online Only

Abstract

Electroactive polymers have great potential for many real-world applications, from soft robots and implantable devices to smart coatings for buildings and deployable structures in space. Unfortunately, the fundamental physics of EAPs lends them to operation at much smaller scales. The challenge therefore is to scale up the smart behaviour of EAPs (in sensing, actuation and energy harvesting) from the nano- and micro-scales to human scale and beyond. In this presentation we will explore the motivation for, and difficulty of, EAP scale-up and examine practical routes to achieving it. These will include the integration of micro-actuation across spatial and temporal domains. We will also take inspiration from biological mechanisms which are so good at achieving this scale-up through efficient materials selection and structural design. Examples we will consider include biological skeletal muscle activation, zipping electro-origami and crawling electro-skins. We will address the elephant-in-the-room of multi-scale hierarchical fabrication and propose potential solutions through smart metamaterials and self-assembly. If these challenges can be met, the true potential impact of EAPs could be realised within a decade.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Jonathan M. Rossiter "Zipping and gripping: integrating small actuations for big problems", Proc. SPIE 11587, Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) XXIII, 115871G (22 March 2021); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2585759

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