Sensor Property of a Novel EAP Device with Ionic-liquid-based Bucky Gel

Bucky gel actuator is a novel electro-active polymer (EAP), which is a low-voltage driven dry soft actuator. Its device has a bimorph structure with polymer-supported bucky gel electrodes and a polymer-supported ionic gel electrolyte. It can be fabricated by layer-by-layer casting, to form any shape easily. Some of the EAP materials can be used as a sensor as well as an actuator. If sensor function and actuator function exist in a same device, both function can be integrated with keeping the advantages of functional polymeric material. Miniature actuator-sensor systems and feedback control systems can be constructed; therefore, possibility of application can be expanded. In this paper, we verify the sensor device property of bucky gel devices. Based on the experiment, the relationship between an output signal and a deformation is investigated, and an estimation method of a deformation is demonstrated.