BACKGROUND This paper discusses the various methods and the materials for the fabrication of active artificial facial muscles. The primary use for these will be the reanimation of paralysed or atrophied muscles in sufferers of non-recoverable unilateral facial paralysis. METHOD The prosthetic solution described in this paper is based on sensing muscle motion of the contralateral healthy muscl...

      The muscle-like technology would be of enormous advantages for biomedical applications such as medical implants and human assist devices. Ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs) are one kind of biomimetic actuators. An ionic polymer metal composite composed from an ionomer with high ion exchange capacity that packed between two thin metal layers. In the present study we focused on the prep...

1 FROM THE EDITOR Yoseph Bar-Cohen, [email protected] This issue reports the latest progress in the fields of Electroactive Polymers (EAP) and biomimetics. Some of the latest development at the various lab worldwide is reported in this issue. From the perspective of Biomimetics, it is interesting to note that the SPIE’s Conference on Biomimetics has continued to grow in terms of the number of p...

Natural muscles have mechanical properties that conventional actuators do not possess. These natural machines show large strain, moderate stress, high efficiency and stability, fast response time, high power/weight ratio, long lifetime, etc. In the last years a great interest has arisen to develop materials that mimic natural mechanisms. Conducting polymers have an array of potential applicatio...

We find that low molecular weight liquid crystalline cooperative effects acting over length scales larger than the typical mesh size of a liquid single crystalline elastomer {LSCE), controls the elastomer shape. This result provides a “proof of concept” for the novel suggestion of de Gennes et al. that LSCEs may be used as temperature activated artificial muscles.

Pneumatic actuators convert pneumatic energy into mechanical motion. This motion can be linear or rotary. Linear motion is feasible with pneumatic cylinders (e. g. single-acting cylinder, double-acting cylinder, rodless cylinder) and pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs). Pneumatic artificial muscle is the newest and most promising type of pneumatic actuators. PAM is a membrane that expands radia...

During the last decade and a half new polymers have emerged that respond to electrical stimulation with a significant shape or size change. This capability of electroactive polymer (EAP) materials is attracting the attention of engineers and scientists from many different disciplines. Practitioners in biomimetics are particularly excited about these materials since the artificial muscle aspect ...