The soft electroactive polymer material, ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC), has been used in various applications of soft-robotics for both its sensing and actuating capabilities. When used as a sensor, IPMCs are typically positioned in a rectangular cantilever orientation, where the produced voltage response is indicative of the displacement occurring as the IPMC is bent by an induced force. Upon changing the orientation of the IPMC sensor, alternative reproducible voltage responses occur depending upon which surface the induced force is acting upon. The results of this study can be used to optimize the design of soft-robot devices that use IPMCs as a main sensing component.
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