Recent advances in ionic polymer conductor composite materials as distributed nanosensors, nanoactuators, and artificial muscles (Invited Paper)

Abstract

Recent advances in ionic polymer conductor composites (IPCC) and ionic polymer metal composites (IPMC) as biomimetic distributed nanosensors, nanoactuators, nanotransducers and artificial muscles are briefly discussed in this paper. These advances include brief reproduction of some of these advances that appeared in a new book and a recent set of 4 review articles published in the International Journal of Smart Materials and Structures, advances in manufacturing, force optimization, modeling and simulation and new products developed by Environmental Robots Incorporated, as well as numerous potential applications using Ionic Polymer-Metal Composites (IPMC's) as distributed nanosensors, nanotransducers, nanoactuators and artificial muscles. It is certainly clear that the extent of applications of IPCC's and IPMC's go beyond the scope of this paper or the space allocated to this paper. However, this paper will present the breadth and the depth of all such applications of IPCC's and IPMC's as biomimetic robotic distributed nanosensors, nanoactuators, nanotransducers and artificial/synthetic muscles.