When the arms of a robot move to pick up an egg or an electric lamp, the greatest precision possible is essential. To this end, advances in the science and technology of materials have provided the design and control of systems equipped with sensors and actuators built with new materials.

The Automation Group at the Department of Electricity and Electronics of the Faculty of Science and Technology at the Leioa campus of the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU) is studying the stimulus-response characteristics of various kinds of materials to be used in the generation and measurement of precise movements in electromechanical systems in miniature and in robotics.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-05/ef-pco051608.php