The modeling, design and development of a dielectric elastomer based transducer is presented. This device is augmented with a sensory feedback and control system to achieve dual actuation and sensory functionality of the transducer. The design of devices based on the transduction of dielectric elastomers is complicated by the nonlinear properties of the material and strong nonlinear coupling between the electrical and mechanical response of the device. Furthermore, research on the design of such devices has not been addressed in the literature. To fulfill this deficit, this thesis presents the systematic detailed design of a dielectric elastomer transducer (DET) complete with formal model-based prediction of the device performance. After tailoring the design requirements for general dielectric elastomer transducers using the model developed herein, a suitable prototype transducer is fabricated using methods developed in the course of this research for the purpose of the design theory evaluation, experimental validation and characterization of the transducer. After fabricating a series of DET prototypes, the global electrical properties of the devices are characterized experimentally. The electrical properties are found to vary with strain. In light of this observation, a sensory feedback system has been created to make electrical real-time property measurements from the DET prototype. After verifying the successful operation of the sensory feedback and control system, it is used to characterize the stretched planar DET prototypes. Close correlation between the model response and that of the DET prototype is confirmed. Furthermore, the model demonstrates the capability of elucidating the abnormal behavior of the DET prototype. Finally, the sensory feedback and control system is shown to perform accurately as a means of strain inference by comparison to experimentally determined data.