Is there anything like a DIY alternative for electroavtive polymers? Also, where can I find data on robotic hands motors and gearing?

Well, pneumatic "air muscles" are both strong and cheap to build, as well as being flexible and able to act both fast and slow depending on how much you open the control valve. A force sensitive resistor could be placed at the tip of a finger, and the amount of pressure applied to it used to control how much the control valve for the finger-bending air muscle is opened. Bend your finger slowly and the exoskeleton bends slowly allowing you to keep continuous pressure to the sensor.

Bend your finger quickly and air is let into the muscle much faster, keeping up with your movement. Try to crush something, and a lot of pressure is applied to the sensor making the air muscle strain to give you super-human strength. =P.

No idea about the DIY electroactive polymers, but you've got me intrigued if the polymer and robotic hand questions are related. They only place I've ever seen actual data from robotic hands complete with specifics about the motors and gearing used is in academic papers. I'd try googling to find universities with someone developing a robotic hand and then check out their publications.

If you type "robotic prosthetic hand" into Google Scholar, it looks like you'll find some info too.

For data on robotic hands, you can check Society of Robots: societyofrobots.com/robot_arm_tutorial.s....

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.