Artificial muscles: Non-Stoichiometry Nature, Sensing and Actuating Properties and Tactile Sensibility

Electro-chemo-mechanical devices or artificial muscles based on conducting polymers (CP) are presented as bilayers, CP/adhesive polymer, or as triple layers, CP/adhesive polymer/CP. Those soft and wet materials, working in aqueous solutions of a salt, mimic the composition of most organs from animals. Under electrochemical control, so working as new electrical machines, they produce continuous, reverse and elegant bending movements, mimicking those produce by animal muscles. By means of the current a perfect controls of the movement rate is attained giving soft and continuous movements. Muscles able to sense the chemical and mechanical conditions of work or muscle having tactile sense, as will be presented here, are being developed. All of them are founded on the non-stoichiometric nature of the soft and wet materials.