Front Matter: Volume 10966

Abstract

modeling and analysis of EAP improved EAP (including such as 3D printing) and emerging EAP actuators (including ionic, shape applications of EAP including power This team presented a DEAnsec, which is an ultra-light (0.2 g) soft robot driven by stacked dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) operating at 450V. The DEAnsect has a flexible silicone body and three legs, each driven independently by a DEA stack. The DEAnsect moves at four body lengths per second and can be accurately steered thanks to the independent control of each DEA. It is robust, can climb slopes of 15°, and survives being flattened with a fly swatter. These demonstrations were focus on the applications of smart soft polymers, including dielectric elastomer (DE), shape memory polymer (SMP) and other smart soft structures. This team presented an inflatable robot, created from a sheet of silicone and airbrushed electrodes, which uses out of phase segmented actuation to produce linear conveyance of a light load along its length. In addition, they presented the results of their finite element simulation of their model. This demonstration has potential application for inflatable dielectric robotics.