Abstract
The article presents a working whisker structure based on dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs). This preliminary work aims to exploit the features of the dielectric elastomer technology for use in an effective and reliable robotic application whilst accommodating the limitations of this emerging actuation technique. To this end, a modular design and structure have been conceived to simplify the building and repair process of the critical components such as the connectors, wiring, sensors and DEA membranes. This design represents the engineering and scaling of the concepts and techniques developed in previous work, and to overcome identified technical and methodological constraints that previously prohibited extensive real applications. The structure is realised as a trade-off between the unique characteristics of the DEA technology and the robotic development issues. Safety, robustness, production time and key aspects of robotic design are taken into account in the development of this prototype. The results presented show how this structure addresses the design requirement and technical constraints previously identified. The active whisking range achieved is ±14 degrees, measured using image processing of videos captured by both standard and high speed cameras. This metric will be used as one of the measures for planned improvements that are discussed in addition to the advantages and limitations of the structure and the design decisions made.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices, EAPAD 2014 |
Publisher | SPIE |
Volume | 9056 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780819499820 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 8 Mar 2014 |
Event | Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices, EAPAD 2014 - San Diego, CA, USA United States Duration: 10 Mar 2014 → 13 Mar 2014 |
Conference
Conference | Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices, EAPAD 2014 |
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Country/Territory | USA United States |
City | San Diego, CA |
Period | 10/03/14 → 13/03/14 |
Keywords
- artificial muscles
- artificial whisker
- DEAs
- EAPs
- modular structure
- tactile sense
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Computer Science Applications
- Applied Mathematics
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering