Innovative assistive technologies based on electromechanically active polymer transducers

Assistive technologies are meant to provide users having different forms of disabilities with enhancements to, or even change, the ways of interaction with their external environment. This broad field poses challenges that raise the need for innovative technologies, so as to enable applications impossible with conventional approaches today. Aimed at addressing this need, our activities are focused on the development of innovative technologies based on electromechanically active polymer (EAP) transducers. The idea is to use ‘active materials’ that exhibit a mechanical response to an electrical stimulus, while offering, at the same time, light weight, mechanical compliance, compact size, simple structure, low power consumption, acoustically silent operation, and low cost. EAPs can exhibit such properties. They are referred to as ‘smart materials’ or ‘artificial muscle materials’, because of their ability to exhibit deformation upon electrical stimulation. The EAP sub-class known as dielectric elastomer transducers shows great potentialities for a number of diverse uses. Here, we present the latest developments of our group for three kinds of applications: 1) wearable haptic displays for vibro-tactile feedback in virtual reality systems; 2) refreshable Braille displays for the blinds; 3) variable-stiffness orthotic systems for motor rehabilitation of the hand.