Bayer MaterialScience, Leverkusen, Germany, announced today that it has acquired Artifical Muscle, Inc. (AMI) of Sunnyvale, Calif., a developer of electroactive polymers used in the design and manufacture of actuators and sensing components.  Used in touchscreen panels, these polymers provide "awareness and touch" by creating authentic tactile feedback, just like a conventional keyboard.  BMS said it sees additional opportunities for this technology in electronic devices like smartphones, gaming controllers and touchpads. 

     "This acquisition allows us to combine AMI's excellent technology with our existing expertise and gives us a leading position in electroactive polymers in materials and their use in numerous applications," said Patrick Thomas, CEO of Bayer MaterialScience AG. 

BMS said all  AMI employees, including Scott Metcalf, president and CEO, will remain with the company.  AMI has targeted applications such as pumps, valves, positioners, power generations and sensors for its technology.  The company said that with the emergent need for haptics in consumer electronics, particularly touchscreens, it used EPAM ( electroactive polymer artificial muscle) to create the Reflex brand of haptic actuators that are targeted at a wide range of electronic devices.