[Tyler]

Ferropaper Robots
     


According to a Purdue
University news release, researchers there have
created a magnetic material they call ferropaper which they believe can
be used to create tiny, low-cost micromotors, speakers, and even robots.
To make the material, they start with conventional paper and impregnate
it with ferrofluid, a mixture of mineral oil and magnetic nanoparticles
made of iron oxide. The paper is then coated with a "biocompatible
plastic film" to make it water resistant. Newspaper and tissue paper
have proven best for creating ferropaper. Inexpensive materials are one
of the advantages of ferropaper over existing technologies, explains Babak
Ziaie:
Cantilever actuators are very common, but usually they are
made from silicon, which is expensive and requires special cleanroom
facilities to manufacture. So using the ferropaper could be a very
inexpensive, simple alternative. This is like 100 times cheaper than the
silicon devices now available

The complete research findings on ferropaper will be presented at the
upcoming 23rd IEEE
International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical
Systems, Jan 24-28, in Hong Kong.

   

http://robots.net/article/2968.html