Interdepartmental Research Centre 'E. Piaggio', University of Pisa, Italy.
Bioinspir Biomim. 2011 Dec;6(4):045006. doi: 10.1088/1748-3182/6/4/045006. Epub 2011 Nov 29.
Electroactive polymer (EAP) actuators are electrically responsive materials that have several characteristics in common with natural muscles. Thus, they are being studied as 'artificial muscles' for a variety of biomimetic motion applications. EAP materials are commonly classified into two major families: ionic EAPs, activated by an electrically induced transport of ions and/or solvent, and electronic EAPs, activated by electrostatic forces. Although several EAP materials and their properties have been known for many decades, they have found very limited applications. Such a trend has changed recently as a result of an effective synergy of at least three main factors: key scientific breakthroughs being achieved in some of the existing EAP technologies; unprecedented electromechanical properties being discovered in materials previously developed for different purposes; and higher concentration of efforts for industrial exploitation. As an outcome, after several years of basic research, today the EAP field is just starting to undergo transition from academia into commercialization, with significant investments from large companies. This paper presents a brief overview on the full range of EAP actuator types and the most significant areas of interest for applications. It is hoped that this overview can instruct the reader on how EAPs can enable bioinspired motion systems.
电活性聚合物（EAP）致动器是对电有响应的材料，它们具有与天然肌肉几个共同的特性。因此，它们被作为“人造肌肉”，用于各种仿生运动应用中。EAP 材料通常分为两大类：离子 EAP，通过电感应的离子和/或溶剂输运来激活；和电子 EAP，通过静电力来激活。尽管几十年来人们已经知道了几种 EAP 材料及其特性，但它们的应用非常有限。这种趋势最近发生了变化，这是至少三个主要因素协同作用的结果：一些现有 EAP 技术取得了关键的科学突破；在以前为不同目的开发的材料中发现了前所未有的机电性能；以及对工业开发的投入增加。因此，经过几年的基础研究，今天 EAP 领域才刚刚开始从学术界向商业化过渡，大型公司进行了大量投资。本文简要概述了全系列的 EAP 致动器类型，以及应用中最感兴趣的领域。希望这篇综述能让读者了解 EAP 如何实现仿生运动系统。
