Artificial muscles

Electro Active Polymers (EAPs) may provide a solution to the technical problems of implementing and integrating actuation and sensing functions. Mimicking muscles EAPs could employ rather simple transmission systems and hence drastically reduce mechanical complexity. We studied the feasibility of applying EAP-based devices for the actuation of a simplified model of a robotic locomotion system, intended to operate on the surface of Mars. The system, denominated “Mars jumping rover”, has been conceived as an elastic sphere, with a radius of 1 m, capable to jump over obstacles, by using the actuation capabilities provided by an internal EAP-based linear electromechanical actuator.

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