A biomimetic soft robotic arm for dynamic curvature/haptic sensing with self-power generation ability

This paper presents a novel biomimetic robotic arm for dynamic curvature/haptic detection with self-power generation function. The soft robotic arm is fabricated with an ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC) material and integrated with a functionalized piezoelectric polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film. This device performs curvature and haptic sensing using two kinds of mechanisms: (1) surface acoustic wave (SAW) propagation on the PVDF film and (2) electrical charge variation on the electrodes of the IPMC element while the IPMC element bends. The design of the front arc-shaped robotic finger portion can fit versatile curved targets and fast detect curvature variation or pulsation of the target. The lower IMPC handle part of the robotic arm allows the dynamically haptic detection in the direction perpendicular to the device. Meanwhile, the developed robotic arm generating effective electrical power under low-frequency motions is demonstrated. The developed robotic arm can not only be applied to a dexterous robot for monitoring shape change of soft substance, but also can be utilized to charge electronic devices for many applications such as wireless communications.