Gel Robots (Shape Design and Motion Control of Electroactive Polymer Gel)

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This research studies the modeling, shape design and motion control of deformable machines consisting of actively deformable materials, which are referred to as artificial muscles. Recent advances in electroactive polymers, which are candidate materials for artificial muscles, have enabled the realization of deformable machines similar to living animals.Firstly, an approximate model of the gel was proposed and examined. Its deformation was characterized by two processes- molecular adsorption described with a reductive reaction- diffusion equation, and molecular propagation expressed with a stress generation equation.Secondly, a system for electroactive polymer gels was developed. The developed systems include a driving system consisting of an array of matrix of electrodes in a plane, which generates spatially-varying electric fields, and a manufacturing system for molding gels with wave-shaped surfaces.Thirdly, shape and motion control of gels was studied. Alternating electric fields were used to deform gels into objective shapes by changing the frequency of oscillation. Dynamic motions were generated by switching spatially varying electric fields. These techniques were demonstrated using examples involving beam-shaped gels curling around an object, and starfish-shaped gel robots turning over.