Biodegradable and edible gelatine actuators for use as artificial muscles

Ieropoulos, I.; Chambers, L. D.; Winfield, J.; Ieropoulos, Ioannis; Rossiter, J.

Abstract

The expense and use of non-recyclable materials often requires the retrieval and recovery of exploratory robots. Therefore, conventional materials such as plastics and metals in robotics can be limiting. For applications such as environmental monitoring, a fully biodegradable or edible robot may provide the optimum solution. Materials that provide power and actuation as well as biodegradability provide a compelling dimension to future robotic systems. To highlight the potential of novel biodegradable and edible materials as artificial muscles, the actuation of a biodegradable hydrogel was investigated. The fabricated gelatine based polymer gel was inexpensive, easy to handle, biodegradable and edible. The electro-mechanical performance was assessed using two contactless, parallel stainless steel electrodes immersed in 0.1M NaOH solution and fixed 40 mm apart with the strip actuator pinned directly between the electrodes. The actuation displacement in response to a bias voltage was measured over hydration/de-hydration cycles. Long term (11 days) and short term (1 hour) investigations demonstrated the bending behaviour of the swollen material in response to an electric field. Actuation voltage was low (

Citation

Chambers, L. D., Winfield, J., Ieropoulos, I., & Rossiter, J. (2014). Biodegradable and edible gelatine actuators for use as artificial muscles. Proceedings of SPIE, 9056, 90560B. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2045104

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 8, 2014
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2014
• Journal: Proceedings of SPIE
• Print ISSN: 0277-786X
• Publisher: Society of Photo-optical Instrumentation Engineers
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 9056
• Pages: 90560B
• Book Title: Electroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2014
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2045104
• Keywords: actuators, artificial muscles, electrodes, robotics, environmental monitoring, metals, polymers, robotic systems
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/823607
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.2045104