Development of methods for producing and modeling integrated soft actuators made using DEAP and MRE

Soft materials are a hot topic in modern robotics. They are used, among others, in the construction of human-friendly robots, artificial life systems or in the production of artificial skin.

Three faculties of the Poznań University of Technology are involved in the implementation of the SIGR project: Faculty of Computing and Telecommunications, Faculty of Chemical Technology and Faculty of Control, Robotics & Electrical Engineering. The project i managed by the NME Laboratory.

The aim of the project is to develop methods for producing an integrated actuator and diagnostics of soft actuators implemented using dielectric electroactivated polymers (DEAP) and magnetorheological elastomers (MRE). DEAP and MRE materials belong to the group of intelligent materials. DEAP actuators are characterized by high energy efficiency, flexibility and scalability. They are used in valves and pumps. Dielectric-electroactive polymer technology is able to meet specific requirements better than commonly used technology, e.g. electromagnets, but has strength and stroke restrictions.

Research defined in the project were divided into two stages. The first stage is receiving DEAP materials and MRE, and then creating soft actuators based on them. Received samples will be tested experimentally. The second stage is to develop a set of actuator diagnostic rules using artificial intelligence methods soft based on measurement data. Each of the defined stages provides scientific results of great importance for the development of soft robotics.

The effect of the entire project is to build a full scientific workshop for conducting research on broadly understood structures of the “soft robotics” class.