Basic Research and Development for Microactuators using as Arificial Muscles

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Behind micromachine technology, we can find nanotechnology and it would support true micro-mechanical systems. If we want to develop a few micrometer machines, the machine should integrate several elements of nanometer size. If we produce an actuator, which is soft and fits in any shape like muscles, the size of its basic element might be in nanometer. This area recently called mesoscopic domain and we call it mesoscopic mechanical engineering.For an example, if we develop some implantable artificial vearts, we should search and find some integrated actuators similar to heart muscles, which consist of a large number of sarcomeres. A sarcomere has a structure of large scale integration of actin-myosin complexes. In such scale, the dynamics for converting energy obey quantum physics including thermal vibration of molecule, which called Brawnian movement. Moreover, many conventional structured micromachines cannot move by their own actuators, because frictional or viscous forces exceed the actuator driving force. However, living things can move in such conditions using combination of motor proteins and cyto-skeletons. We must construct a new principle for energy conversion in mesoscopic domain and find fabrication technology of a new mesoscopic machine.The mathematical model which have been developed in the research indicated some designing principles of mesoscopic machines and made possible that we compare the characteristics of biological actuator elements and artificial mesoscopic actuators.