So the SMA, I cannot divulge any info on it. But lets just say it is a new type of SMA being developed that operates just like current SMA, but is stronger/faster/more efficient.
While some smart phd dudes are making it, my job is to get it to do useful stuff in a robot fish. There are two versions being developed. One works by electrical voltage, while the other works by applying heat. I am not sure what measurable changes occur with a length change, just looking for stuff other people have done, or at least ideas, so I can look for these things. The SMA's are still in prototype stage, so there isnt anything I can test at the moment.
The simulation guys tell me that if I get an SMA array (at least 5 of them) to follow a certain motion pattern, I can get the fish to do cool stuff . . . like swim n stuff . . . if the pattern is wrong, it wont work very well, or at all.
So I just need to somehow get a position controller on them that is very small, efficient, and easy to make - mainly cause SMA is very not efficient, and I have a lot to control simultaneously . . .
I would need the same position control as in that link, but with a different method. Not entirely sure if another way is possible . . .
