IPMC cilia system for artificial muscle applications (Conference Presentation)

Artificial muscle (AM) technology is an excellent candidate for creating cilia-based structures for bio-inspired locomotion, maneuvering, and acoustic systems. We developed an AM based cilia fiber which are soft, flexible, easily shaped and low power consumption. The developed cilium has a diameter of around 200 µm and prepared through polymer injection technique. Nafion was used for base polymer for cilia and fabricated IPMCs via platinum electroless plating process. The prepared cilia were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis. The 2 point probe was conducted to measure electrode surface resistance of prepared IPMCs. We further characterized the cross-sectional morphology and studied the electromechanical performances (displacement and blocking force) of the prepared IPMC actuators. Also we created prototype mm-sized AM fiber cilia array (3x20) and tested the actuation of AM cilia fiber under external electric field.