BIONIC HUMANS USING EAP AS ARTIFICIAL MUSCLES - REALITY AND CHALLENGES

摘要

For many, the idea of a human with bionic muscles immediately conjures up images of science fiction a superhuman character in a TV series. With bionic muscles, the hero is portrayed with strength and speed far superior to any normal human. As fantastic as that idea may seem, recent developments in electroactive polymers (EAP) may one day make such bionics possible. Actuation via polymers that exhibit large displacement in response to other than electrical signal were known for many years. Initially, EAP received relatively little attention due to their limited actuation capability. However, in the recent years, the view of the EAP materials has changed due to the introduction of effective new materials that surpassed the capability of the widely used piezoelectric polymer, PVDF. Meanwhile, as this technology evolves, novel mechanisms that are biologically inspired are expected to emerge. EAP materials can potentially provide actuation with lifelike response and more flexible configurations. And while further improvements in power and robustness will be necessary, there already have been several reported successes. In recognition of the need for cooperation in this multidisciplinary field, the author initiated and organized a series of international forums and is continuing to make helping initiatives. In 1999, he challenged the worldwide science and engineering community of EAP experts to develop a robotic arm that is actuated by artificial muscles to win an arm wrestling match against a human opponent. In this paper, the field of EAP as artificial muscles will be reviewed covering the state of the art, the challenges and the vision for the progress in future years.