Energy harvesters, dielectric elastomer design

In this chapter, we extend and apply the results on EAP materials and models to a few device and robotic applications. A robotic fish propelled by an IPMC caudal fin is first considered in Section 9.1. The use of IPMC for low-frequency energy harvesters is studied in Section 9.2. The design of an IPMC-enabled valveless pump is discussed in Section 9.3. We then present a novel micropump actuated by conjugated polymer petals, supported by both analytical and experimental results. Finally, in Section 9.5 we investigate the design, prototyping, and control of a robotic finger powered by dielectric elastomer actuators. 

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