Philips Research, the Netherlands 1 article published in JoVE Engineering Fabrication of Carbon-Based Ionic Electromechanically Active Soft Actuators Pille Rinne1, Inga Põldsalu1, Herman Klas Ratas1, Karl Kruusamäe1, Urmas Johanson1, Tarmo Tamm1, Kaija Põhako-Esko1, Andres Punning1, Anna-Liisa Peikolainen1, Friedrich Kaasik1, Indrek Must1, Daan van den Ende2, Alvo Aabloo1 1Intelligent Materials and Systems Lab, Institute of Technology, University of Tartu, 2Smart Interfaces & Modules Department, Philips Research This article describes a fast and simple manufacturing process of ionic electromechanically active composite materials for actuators in biomedical, biomimetic and soft robotics applications. The key fabrication steps, their importance for the actuators' final properties, and some of the main characterization techniques are described in detail.
