Experimental investigations on behavior of IPMC polymer actuator and artificial muscle-like linear actuator

In this paper first we address experimental works to investigate basic characteristics of IPMC actuators which have not been discussed sufficiently yet. Surface conductivity, displacement and force features are discussed. Also a new actuator is proposed called Artificial Musclelike Linear Actuator (AMuLA) inspired from the actuation principles of the human. The actuator is a linear actuator simulating the mechanical behavior of myofilaments that are the basic units of the human muscle. Multiple IPMC's and electrodes are utilized to mimic the motion of muscles and as a result, musclelike linear motions can be realized. The prototype of AMuLA is introduced and its performance is evaluated.