STTR Phase I: An Actuated Skin for Robotic Facial Expressions

这个小企业技术转让（STTR）第一阶段研究计划提出了一个新的概念，用于驱动人工类人皮肤。由于缺乏足够的肌肉类技术，人造皮肤在许多应用中的应用受到限制，例如机器人面部，假肢和医疗模拟设备，电子动画和高端玩具。这个问题的解决方案是一种新型的复合致动器，微压电致动器和多孔弹性体的混合物，它将表现出天然肌肉组织的几个特性。这些进步的关键是一种称为结构化多孔弹性体制造（SPEM）的新技术。目的是确定多孔弹性体中孔几何形状对材料性质的影响，将这种理解用于多孔网络的优化，通过开发快速原型和注射成型工艺的混合物来制造弹性体中的优化孔结构，以确定在多孔弹性体中嵌入压电致动器所需的合成问题，本研究将有助于对压电驱动结构多孔弹性体复合材料驱动器作为人工肌肉、其制造技术以及包括驱动器在内的支撑技术有一个基本的了解，布线和锚定。这种理解将有助于生产各种各样的生物启发的机械设备，以肌肉的方式驱动。通过微机器人夹持器阵列，开发3D牺牲材料和压电致动器微阵列的快速原型，将为活性合成软组织的大规模生产提供实用的解决方案。

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I research program proposes a novel concept for actuating artificial human-like skin. The application of the artificial skin in numerous applications such as robotic faces, prosthetics and medical simulation devices, animatronics, and high-end toys has been limited because of the lack of adequate muscle-like technologies. A solution to this problem is a novel composite actuator, a hybrid of micro piezoelectric actuators and a porous elastomer which will exhibit several characteristics of natural muscle tissues. The key to these advances is a new technique called structured porosity elastomer manufacturing (SPEM). The objectives are to determine the effect of pore geometry on the material properties in porous elastomers, use this understanding for optimization of the porous network, to fabricate the optimized pore-structure in elastomers by developing a hybrid of rapid-prototyping and injection molding processes, to identify the synthesis issues required for embedding of the piezoelectric actuators in the porous elastomer, and to fabricate the robotic face integrated with novel motion control electronics for driving micro piezoelectric actuators and ultrasonic motors.This research will lead to the fundamental understanding of piezo-actuated structured porous elastomer composite actuators as artificial muscles, their manufacturing technologies, and supporting technologies including drivers, wiring and anchoring. This understanding will be helpful in producing a wide array of bio-inspired mechanical devices that are actuated in the manner of muscles. The development of hybrid of rapid-prototyping of 3D sacrificial material and micro-arrays of piezoactuators, by means of micro-robotic gripper arrayswill provide a practical solution for mass production of active, synthetic soft tissues.