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Discover Technologies LLC in June of 2003 in
Blacksburg, Virginia. In December of 2005, the
company moved to an office in the Research Triangle
Park, outside of Raleigh, North Carolina and was
restructured as a corporation.
The goal of the company is to advance the field of
electroactive polymers (EAPs) by making these
materials commercially available and by working with
corporate and university partners to identify novel
applications for EAPs. Although research into
electroactive polymers has been aggressive for over
15 years, these materials are still largely confined to
the laboratory. There are several reasons for this
trend, but the most important seem to be cost,
performance, and reliability.
Because they are not commodity items and often require expensive materials and special manufacturing
techniques to produce, EAPs have traditionally been very expensive. Although there are a small number of
companies currently manufacturing EAP materials, the cost of these materials is far from competitive with
conventional technologies.
Electroactive polymers have unique transduction properties that will allow them to outperform any conventional
technology in certain niche applications. However, they are not a "fix-all." Typically, the major advantages of
EAPs is that they are able to generate large strains and have no moving parts. However, they also generate very
small stresses. While a great deal of research is focused on improving the performance of EAPs, including at
Discover Technologies, the real winners in this field will be those firms that are able to identify the advantages that
polymer transducers can offer and applications that can gain the most benefit from those advantages. In other
words, it is unlikely that electroactive polymers are going to replace the internal combustion engine.
Finally, almost every type of electroactive polymer has suffered from reliability issues that have hindered the
development of devices that are sufficiently robust for real-world usage. Including dielectric breakdown,
electrochemical breakdown, and thermal breakdown, many EAP devices are simply too fragile to handle by
untrained personnel.
In order to overcome these limitations, Discover Technologies' focus is on the development of electroactive
polymer materials and devices that have well-understood properties and performance and are inexpensive and
robust enough for application to real-world commercial and industrial problems. Specialty and niche applications
that make use of the unique advantages of EAPs will be identified through industrial partnerships. Improved
manufacturing techniques and a focus on practicality will lead to devices that are not only "novel," but have real
utility as well. By fostering emerging market opportunities for EAP devices, Discover Technologies will make these
materials affordable through volume manufacturing.
Recent News
May 3, 2004: Discover Technologies LLC is awarded a Phase I SBIR from the Office of Naval Research to
develop wall shear sensors based on ionomeric polymers.
December 12, 2005: Discover Technologies LLC is restructured as Discover Technologies Inc and relocated to
North Carolina.
January 15, 2006: Discover Technologies signs agreement with the First Flight Venture Center to lease office
and laboratory space.
July 10, 2006: Discover Technologies Inc is awarded a Phase II SBIR contract from the Office of Naval Research
to continue the development of ionomer-based wall shear stress sensors.
