2013 EAP-in-Action – SPIE’s EAPAD Conf.
Japan
Smart Push Button with Shape Memory Gel
Hidemitsu Furukawa, Jin Gong, Soft and Wet Matter Engineering Laboratory (SWEL), Yamagata University (Japan)
A smart push button is designed by using shape memory gel as a contact disc. The push button has the similar small size as a toy block, and it’s on/off switch function can be smartly controlled by temperature.
New Zealand
Dielectric elastomer (DE) technology for self-sensing, portable energy harvesting and product development
Iain
Anderson,
Andrew
Lo,
Thomas
McKay,
Daniel Xu, Biomimetics
Laboratory, Auckland, New Zealand www.abi.auckland.ac.nz/biomimetics
The Biomimetics Lab of the Auckland Bioengineering Institute
will
present
dielectric
elastomer
(DE)
technology
for
self-sensing,
portable
energy
harvesting
and
product
development.
Their
showcase
will
include
the
following
demonstration
units:
(1) 8 channel capacitive sensing unit
Multi-degree-of-freedom robots that could one day mimic the octopus will require multi-degree-of-freedom sensing. A device will be demonstrated using the latest in-house developed sensing electronics to provide multi-degree-of-freedom sensing. This sensing unit can simultaneously capture the capacitance of 8 independent sensors.
(2) A hand-held
dielectric
elastomer
generator: Some new
developments in artificial muscle portable energy harvesting will be
demonstrated.
(3) The four channel Artificial Muscle Control Unit (www.biomimeticslab.com)
This stand-alone
portable
laboratory
instrument
simplifies
the
generation
and
control
of
high
voltages
for
artificial
muscle
research. It features include 4 independent output channels,
computer
control,
battery
operation, and
safety features that make it suitable for bench-top use.
(4) The Self-Sensing Unit (www.biomimeticslab.com)
Get real-time sensory feedback from your
artificial muscles, characterize new EAP materials and develop new products
with the Biomimetics Lab’s Self-Sensing Unit (SSU)!
(5) High voltage surprise!
Do you like high voltages? Come to
EAP-in-action; you might see something shocking!
Switzerland
High-speed
silicone DEAs
S. Rosset, L. Maffli, S. Akbari, J. Shintake, S. Araromi, A. Poulin, and H. Shea, EPFL, Switzerland
µm- to cm-scale dielectric elastomer actuators will be presented, which, thanks to the use of silicone membranes and silicone-carbon electrodes, operate at speeds up to several kHz, limited by device resonance frequency. Applications range from soft robotics to tissue engineering.
USA
ViviTouch Audio - Take the
Power of Live Music Anywhere
Al Zarrabi (Senior Product Manager), and Art Muir (Director of
System Engineering and Business Development), ViviTouch,
a Bayer MaterialScience Brand in Sunnyvale,
California.
This
demo will showcase how ViviTouch actuators are now
applying EAP technology in a brand new way to the portable headphone category.
Torsional and Tensile Carbon Nanotube Hybrid Yarn Muscles
Marcio Lima, Na Li, Monica Jung de Andrade, Carter S.
Haines, Ray H. Baughman, NanoTech Institute,
University of Texas at Dallas
Electrolyte-free
carbon nanotube based artificial muscles have been designed to provide
fast torsional and tensile actuation. As recently published in the journal Science [Lima et al, 2012], these
muscles can spin a rotor at an average 11,500 revolutions/minute (20 times
higher than previously demonstrated for an artificial muscle) and provide up to
27.9 kW/kg of mechanical power density during muscle contraction (85 times
higher than for natural skeletal muscle). More than a million cycles of tensile
and torsional actuation have been performed without a significant loss of
performance. These actuators can operate from cryogenic temperatures to 2500°C. Demonstrations include
torsional rotors and contractile muscles exemplifying large stroke and high
rate performance.
Ref: M. D. Lima, N. Li, M. Jung de Andrade, S. Fang, J. Oh, G. M. Spinks, M. E. Kozlov, C. S. Haines, D. Suh, J. Foroughi, S. J. Kim, Y. Chen, T. Ware, M. K. Shin, L. D. Machado, A. F. Fonseca, J. D. W. Madden, W. E. Voit, D. S. Galvăo, R. H. Baughman, “Electrically, Chemically, and Photonically Powered Torsional and Tensile Actuation of Hybrid Carbon Nanotube Yarn Muscles”, Science (2012)
Carbon nanotube actuator configurations offering different tensile
and torsional actuation properties.
Bistable electroactive polymers (BSEP)
and refreshable Braille display devices
Xiaofan Niu, Xinguo Yang, Paul Brochu, Hristiyan Stoyanov, Sungryul Yun, Zhibin
Yu, and Qibing Pei, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University
of California, Los Angeles
A new
bistable electroactive polymer has been developed via a prestrain-free
synthesis. The actuation stability has been significantly improved.
High-performance bistable electroactive polymer actuators and a refreshable
Braille display device will be demonstrated.
Electrically Driven Mechanochemical
Actuators
Lenore
Rasmussen, Ras Labs, LLC, Picatinny
Arsenal, NJ
Using Carbon infused contractile EAP, a
demonstration will be made showing an electrically driven mechano-chemical
actuators. Driven by 50 V or less, these actuators will perform rotational and
push-pull motions with minimal generation of heat or noise.