Bio-inspired hovering and locomotion via wirelessly powered ionic polymer metal composites

In this paper, we present a wireless powering system for Ionic Polymer Metal Composites (IPMCs). The need for technological advancements towards the realization of hovering flight and swimming in biological systems motivates the system design. We demonstrate IPMC wireless powering through radio frequency magnetically coupled coils and ad hoc power electronics for low frequency IPMC actuation. We identify the parameters of the circuit components describing the resonantly coupled coils. We analyze the power transfer from the external power source to the receiver at the IPMC and compare the actuation performance of the IPMC in the wireless and wired configurations.