ABSTRACT
Electro-rheological fluids are reviewed with respect to their application in devices that are aimed at featuring electronically designated motion and flexible operation - 3rd wave machines. The article is one engineer’s view of what is required in order to promote a successful and unified approach to the interdisciplinary problem amongst scientists and engineers. This is done by setting down the state of the art position of research in the field and the salient factors that determine research trends for fluid developers, whilst at the same time giving some idea of desired machine performance and limitations.
