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Soft Actuators

Materials, Modeling, Applications, and Future Perspectives

  • Book
  • © 2019

Overview

Editors:
  1. Kinji Asaka

    1. National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Ikeda, Japan

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  2. Hidenori Okuzaki

    1. Graduate Faculty of Interdisciplinary Research, University of Yamanashi, Kofu, Japan

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    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Facilitates quick learning with the inclusion of the newest technology and information on basic science and practical applications of soft actuators
  • Makes generous use of color figures, diagrams, and photographs to provide full descriptions of the mechanism, apparatus, and motion of soft actuators
  • Inspires readers with new ideas and encourages their research and development, opening up a new field of applications for the utilization and industrialization of soft actuators

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Table of contents (41 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
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  2. Introduction

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
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    2. Progress and Current Status of Materials and Properties of Soft Actuators

      • Hidenori Okuzaki
      Pages 3-18

    3. Current Status of Applications and Markets of Soft Actuators

      • Kinji Asaka, Kayo Nakamura
      Pages 19-35

  3. Materials of Soft Actuators: Thermo-Driven Soft Actuators

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 37-37
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    2. Electromagnetic Heating

      • Takeshi Yamauchi
      Pages 39-47

    3. Thermo-Responsive Nanofiber Mats Fabricated by Electrospinning

      • Hidenori Okuzaki
      Pages 49-60

    4. Evolution of Self-Oscillating Polymer Gels as Autonomous Soft Actuators

      • Ryo Yoshida
      Pages 61-80

    5. Polyrotaxane Actuators

      • Abu Bin Imran, Mohammad Harun-Ur-Rashid, Yukikazu Takeoka
      Pages 81-147

  4. Materials of Soft Actuators: Electro-Driven Soft Actuators

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 149-149
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    2. Ionic Conductive Polymers

      • Kunitomo Kikuchi, Shigeki Tsuchitani
      Pages 151-169

    3. Conducting Polymers

      • Keiichi Kaneto
      Pages 171-185

    4. Humidity-Sensitive Conducting Polymer Actuators

      • Hidenori Okuzaki
      Pages 187-202

    5. Carbon Nanotube/Ionic Liquid Composites

      • Takushi Sugino, Kenji Kiyohara, Kinji Asaka
      Pages 203-215

    6. Ion Gels for Ionic Polymer Actuators

      • Masayoshi Watanabe, Satoru Imaizumi, Tomohiro Yasuda, Hisashi Kokubo
      Pages 217-232

    7. Ionic Liquid/Polyurethane/PEDOT:PSS Composite Actuators

      • Hidenori Okuzaki
      Pages 233-243

    8. Dielectric Gels

      • Toshihiro Hirai
      Pages 245-258

    9. Dielectric Elastomers

      • Seiki Chiba
      Pages 259-273

    10. Piezoelectric Polymers

      • Yoshiro Tajitsu
      Pages 275-287

    11. Thermal and Electrical Actuation of Liquid Crystal Elastomers/Gels

      • Kenji Urayama
      Pages 289-306
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Keywords

About this book

This book is the second edition of Soft Actuators, originally published in 2014, with 12 chapters added to the first edition. The subject of this new edition is current comprehensive research and development of soft actuators, covering interdisciplinary study of materials science, mechanics, electronics, robotics, and bioscience. The book includes contemporary research of actuators based on biomaterials for their potential in future artificial muscle technology. Readers will find detailed and useful information about materials, methods of synthesis, fabrication, and measurements to study soft actuators. Additionally, the topics of materials, modeling, and applications not only promote the further research and development of soft actuators, but bring benefits for utilization and industrialization. This volume makes generous use of color figures, diagrams, and photographs that provide easy-to-understand descriptions of the mechanisms, apparatus, and motions of soft actuators.Also, in this second edition the chapters on modeling, materials design, and device design have been given a wider scope and made easier to comprehend, which will be helpful in practical applications of soft actuators. Readers of this work can acquire the newest technology and information about basic science and practical applications of flexible, lightweight, and noiseless soft actuators, which differ from conventional mechanical engines and electric motors. This new edition of Soft Actuators will inspire readers with fresh ideas and encourage their research and development, thus opening up a new field of applications for the utilization and industrialization of soft actuators. 

Editors and Affiliations

  • National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Ikeda, Japan

    Kinji Asaka

  • Graduate Faculty of Interdisciplinary Research, University of Yamanashi, Kofu, Japan

    Hidenori Okuzaki

About the editors

Kinji Asaka received his Ph.D. degree in Science from Kyoto University in 1990. He is currently a Group Leader of Hybrid Actuator Group, Inorganic Functional Material Research Institute at AIST. His current research interests include interfacial electrochemistry and polymer actuators. He is a member of the Society of Polymer Science, Japan and the Society of Instrument and Control Engineers.

Hidenori Okuzaki received his Ph.D. degree in Science from Hokkaido University in 1994. Since 1994, he has been working on organic electronics using conductive polymers as an assistant professor of the Faculty of Engineering, University of Yamanashi. He has been an associate professor in 2003 and he has dealt with conducting micro- and nano-fibers, and organic field-effect transistors. Since 2014, he has been a professor of the Graduate Faculty of Interdisciplinary Research, University of Yamanashi and he has been focusing on the synthesis of highly conductive polymers andapplications to soft sensors and actuators for organic robotics.

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