Plenary Event
Wednesday Plenary Session
On demand | Presented Live 9 March 2022
Session Chair: Iain A. Anderson, The Univ. of Auckland (New Zealand)
8:15 – 8:30 AM: SPIE Best Student Paper Awards
Developing next generation ionic polymer-metal composite materials
Kwang Jin Kim, Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas (USA)
The field of soft robotics, which has expanded rapidly over the last few decades, makes extensive use of electroactive polymers (EAP); polymeric materials which exhibit electromechanical and mechanoelectrical transduction. It is these transduction properties that give EAPs their broad range of application, as both actuators and sensors, in soft robotic systems. In using EAPs as functional components, soft robots tend to offer distinct advantages not inherently present in traditional robots; particularly, highly deformable structures, natural compliance with their surroundings, and aquatic operation [Olsen et al., 2021]. One widely used class of EAP is the Ionic Polymer-Metal Composite (IPMC). The IPMC is constructed from an ionomeric polymer (ionomer) membrane, typically Nafion® or Aquivion®, composited between two electrodes, commonly a noble metal such as platinum or gold, in a tri-layer structure. IPMCs are a type of electroactive polymer which exhibits large shape change under an applied electric field, or conversely can produce electric signal giving an input of deformation [Oguro et al., 1992; Mojarrad and Shahinpoor, 1996; Asaka and Oguro, 2000; Shahinpoor and Kim, 2001]. These materials have been studied since the early 1990’s for their promise as candidates for large deformation artificial muscles and other soft-robotic devices. Extensive research has been made on the application of IPMC actuators and sensors in the bio-medical, bio-mimetics, and robotics fields. Their large deformation, fast response, and natural compliance make IPMC actuators a strong candidate for many novel robotic applications. Likewise, IPMC sensors are highly flexible and offer unique multimodal transduction capabilities that will enable future robotics with a distinct option for perceiving and interacting with their surroundings. The current trajectory of the research shows immense promise for a future with highly capable IPMC actuators and sensors being used in a wide range of robotic, soft-robotic, and biomimetic technologies.
Kwang J. (Jin) Kim is a distinguished professor of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV). Prior to joining the UNLV, he was with the University of Nevada-Reno (UNR) as a UNR Foundation Professor and Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department. His research interests in smart materials include ionic polymer-metal composites, PVC gels, and their respective applications in soft-robotics and biomimetics. He received his bachelor’s degree from Yonsei University in 1987, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Arizona State University in 1989 and 1992, respectively. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and ASME.
Computational ultrasound: how arrays and data are reshaping ultrasonic NDE
Paul Wilcox, Univ. of Bristol (UK)
Since the late 20th century, the speed of digital data acquisition and processing from multi-element ultrasonic arrays has increased dramatically. We are now in the age of ‘computational ultrasound’ where NDE performance advances are increasingly driven by superior data analysis rather than new physics or sensors. In this talk I will look back over some of the developments in which I have been involved, including guided wave arrays for large area inspection and ultrasonic arrays for localised inspection. I will discuss how computational ultrasound can benefit from deep learning techniques and the crucial role it will play in Industry 4.0.
Paul Wilcox is professor of Dynamics at the University of Bristol, a Fellow of the Alan Turing Institute, and Academic Director of the UK Research Centre in NDE. He received an Engineering Science degree from the University of Oxford (1994) and a PhD from Imperial College London (1998). In 2015 he co-founded Inductosense Ltd., to commercialise inductively-coupled ultrasonic sensors. His research interests include arrays, guided waves, elastodynamic scattering, signal processing and machine learning.
8:15 – 8:30 AM: SPIE Best Student Paper Awards
Developing next generation ionic polymer-metal composite materials
Kwang Jin Kim, Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas (USA)
The field of soft robotics, which has expanded rapidly over the last few decades, makes extensive use of electroactive polymers (EAP); polymeric materials which exhibit electromechanical and mechanoelectrical transduction. It is these transduction properties that give EAPs their broad range of application, as both actuators and sensors, in soft robotic systems. In using EAPs as functional components, soft robots tend to offer distinct advantages not inherently present in traditional robots; particularly, highly deformable structures, natural compliance with their surroundings, and aquatic operation [Olsen et al., 2021]. One widely used class of EAP is the Ionic Polymer-Metal Composite (IPMC). The IPMC is constructed from an ionomeric polymer (ionomer) membrane, typically Nafion® or Aquivion®, composited between two electrodes, commonly a noble metal such as platinum or gold, in a tri-layer structure. IPMCs are a type of electroactive polymer which exhibits large shape change under an applied electric field, or conversely can produce electric signal giving an input of deformation [Oguro et al., 1992; Mojarrad and Shahinpoor, 1996; Asaka and Oguro, 2000; Shahinpoor and Kim, 2001]. These materials have been studied since the early 1990’s for their promise as candidates for large deformation artificial muscles and other soft-robotic devices. Extensive research has been made on the application of IPMC actuators and sensors in the bio-medical, bio-mimetics, and robotics fields. Their large deformation, fast response, and natural compliance make IPMC actuators a strong candidate for many novel robotic applications. Likewise, IPMC sensors are highly flexible and offer unique multimodal transduction capabilities that will enable future robotics with a distinct option for perceiving and interacting with their surroundings. The current trajectory of the research shows immense promise for a future with highly capable IPMC actuators and sensors being used in a wide range of robotic, soft-robotic, and biomimetic technologies.
Kwang J. (Jin) Kim is a distinguished professor of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV). Prior to joining the UNLV, he was with the University of Nevada-Reno (UNR) as a UNR Foundation Professor and Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department. His research interests in smart materials include ionic polymer-metal composites, PVC gels, and their respective applications in soft-robotics and biomimetics. He received his bachelor’s degree from Yonsei University in 1987, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Arizona State University in 1989 and 1992, respectively. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and ASME.
Computational ultrasound: how arrays and data are reshaping ultrasonic NDE
Paul Wilcox, Univ. of Bristol (UK)
Since the late 20th century, the speed of digital data acquisition and processing from multi-element ultrasonic arrays has increased dramatically. We are now in the age of ‘computational ultrasound’ where NDE performance advances are increasingly driven by superior data analysis rather than new physics or sensors. In this talk I will look back over some of the developments in which I have been involved, including guided wave arrays for large area inspection and ultrasonic arrays for localised inspection. I will discuss how computational ultrasound can benefit from deep learning techniques and the crucial role it will play in Industry 4.0.
Paul Wilcox is professor of Dynamics at the University of Bristol, a Fellow of the Alan Turing Institute, and Academic Director of the UK Research Centre in NDE. He received an Engineering Science degree from the University of Oxford (1994) and a PhD from Imperial College London (1998). In 2015 he co-founded Inductosense Ltd., to commercialise inductively-coupled ultrasonic sensors. His research interests include arrays, guided waves, elastodynamic scattering, signal processing and machine learning.