Electro-active polymers as CNN actuators for locomotion control

This work presents an innovative application of Ionic Polymer-Metal Composites (IPMC). The peculiarities and behavior of IPMC are examined and a dynamic model is proposed. Strips of these composites can undergo large bending displacement if an electric field is imposed across their thickness, thus they are motion actuators. More over, by bending the composite strips a voltage is produced across the thickness, obtaining motion sensors. The idea that inspired the work is the possibility of using IPMC to design autonomous structures able to move. Cellular Neural Networks (CNNs) have already demonstrated their powerfulness as new structures for bio-inspired locomotion generation and control. Here an approach to link the CNN capabilities to the availability of these new polymeric materials is presented. This strategy opens new and interesting applications in the field of autonomous and light structures able to self configure and move following spatial-temporal real time dynamics generated by CNNs.