Covers the field of EAP with attention to all aspects and full infrastructure, including the available materials, analytical models, processing techniques, and characterization methods. This second edition covers advances in EAP in electric EAP, electroactive polymer gels, ionomeric polymer-metal composites, and carbon nanotube actuators.

This book covers the fundamental properties, modeling, and demonstration of Electroactive polymers in robotic applications. It particularly details artificial muscles and sensors. In addition, the book discusses the properties and uses in robotics applications of ionic polymer–metal composite actuators and dielectric elastomers.

Smart materials are the way of the future in a variety of fields, from biomedical engineering and chemistry to nanoscience, nanotechnology, and robotics. Featuring an interdisciplinary approach to smart materials and structures, this second edition of Artificial Muscles: Applications of Advanced Polymeric Nanocomposites has been fully updated to thoroughly review the latest knowledge of ionic polymeric conductor nanocomposites (IPCNCs), including ionic polymeric metal nanocomposites (IPMNCs) as biomimetic distributed nanosensors, nanoactuators, nanotransducers, nanorobots, artificial muscles, and electrically controllable intelligent polymeric network structures. Authored by one of the founding fathers of the field, the book introduces fabrication and manufacturing methods of several electrically and chemically active ionic polymeric sensors, actuators, and artificial muscles, as well as a new class of electrically active polymeric nanocomposites and artificial muscles. It also describes a few apparatuses for modeling and testing various artificial muscles to show the viability of chemoactive and electroactive muscles. It presents the theories, modeling, and numerical simulations of ionic polymeric artificial muscles’ electrodynamics and chemodynamics and features current industrial and medical applications of IPMNCs. By covering the fabrication techniques of and novel developments in advanced polymeric nanocomposites, this second edition continues to provides an accessible yet solid foundation to the subject while stimulating further research. Key features: Fully up to date with the latest cutting-edge discoveries in the field Authored by a world expert in the subject area Explores the exciting and growing topic of smart materials in medicine Mohsen Shahinpoor is Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maine and a leading expert in artificial muscles.

Smart materials are the way of the future in a variety of fields, from biomedical engineering and chemistry to nanoscience, nanotechnology, and robotics. Featuring an interdisciplinary approach to smart materials and structures, Artificial Muscles: Applications of Advanced Polymeric Nanocomposites thoroughly reviews the existing knowledge of

Biomimetic Robotic Artificial Muscles presents a comprehensive up-to-date overview of several types of electroactive materials with a view of using them as biomimetic artificial muscles. The purpose of the book is to provide a focused, in-depth, yet self-contained treatment of recent advances made in several promising EAP materials. In particular, ionic polymer-metal composites, conjugated polymers, and dielectric elastomers are considered. Manufacturing, physical characterization, modeling, and control of the materials are presented. Namely, the book adopts a systems perspective to integrate recent developments in material processing, actuator design, control-oriented modeling, and device and robotic applications. While the main focus is on the new developments in these subjects, an effort has been made throughout the book to provide the reader with general, basic information about the materials before going into more advanced topics. As a result, the book is very much self-contained and expected to be accessible for a reader who does not have background in EAPs.Based on the good fundamental knowledge and the versatility of the materials, several promising biomimetic and robotic applications such robotic fish propelled by an IPMC tail, an IPMC energy harvester, an IPMC-based valveless pump, a conjugated polymer petal-driven micropump, and a synthetic elastomer actuator-enabled robotic finger are demonstrated.

Offers a comprehensive review of the research and development of mechanically responsive materials and their applications in soft robots Mechanically Responsive Materials for Soft Robotics offers an authoritative guide to the current state of mechanically responsive materials for the development of soft robotics. With contributions from an international panel of experts, the book examines existing mechanically responsive materials such as crystals, polymers, gels, and composites that are stimulated by light and heat. The book also explores the application of mechanical materials to soft robotics. The authors describe the many excellent mechanical crystals developed in recent years that show the ability to bend, twist, rotate, jump, self-heal, and shape memory. Mechanical polymer materials are described for evolution into artificial muscles, photomobile materials, bioinspired soft actuators, inorganic-organic hybrid materials, multi-responsive composite materials, and strain sensor materials. The application of mechanical materials to soft robots is just the beginning. This book reviews the many challenging and versatile applications, such as soft microrobots made from photoresponsive elastomers, four-dimensional printing for assembling soft robots, self-growing of soft robots like plants, and biohybrid robots using muscle tissue. This important book: -Explores recent developments in the use of soft smart materials in robotic systems -Covers the full scope of mechanically responsive materials: polymers, crystals, gels, and nanocomposites -Deals with an interdisciplinary topic of advanced smart materials research -Contains extensive descriptions of current and future applications in soft robotics Written for materials scientists, polymer chemists, photochemists, physical chemists, solid state chemists, inorganic chemists, and robotics engineers, Mechanically Responsive Materials for Soft Robotics offers a comprehensive and timely review of the most recent research on mechanically responsive materials and the manufacture of soft robotics.

1. Liquid crystals: a unique phase of matter -- 2. Medical displays -- 3. Liquid crystals in spectroscopy, microscopy and hyperspectral imaging -- 4. Liquid crystal biosensors -- 5. Liquid crystak lasers -- 6. Biomimicking with liquid crystals -- 7. Actuators and delivery systems