Synthesis and cyclic force characterization of helical polypyrrole actuators for artificial facial muscles

摘要

This study focuses on the synthesis and characterization of thick and thin film polypyrrole(PPy)-metal composite actuators for application as artificial muscles in facial robotics. Thefabrication method consists of three steps based upon the approach proposed by Ding et al(2003 Synth. Met. 138 391-8): (i) winding the conductive spiral structure around the platinum(Pt) wire core, (ii) deposition of PPy film on the Pt wire core, and (iii) removal of the Pt wirecore. This approach yielded good performance from the synthesized actuators, but was complexto implement due to the difficulty in implementing the third step. To overcome the problem ofmechanical damage occurring during withdrawal of the Pt wire, the core was replaced with adispensable gold coated polylactide fiber that could be etched at the end of deposition step.Experimental results indicate that thin film actuators perform better in terms of response timeand blocking force. A unique muscle-like structure with smoothly varying cross-section wasgrown by combining layer by layer deposition with changes in position and orientation of thecounter electrode in reference to the working electrode.