Both experiments and numerical simulations have provided evidence that an initially fully developed two-dimensional boundary layer, subjected to a sudden spanwise forcing, exhibits a decrease in turbulent friction drag as well as turbulent quantities such as the Reynolds shear stress and turbulent kinetic energy. In past experiments, such forcing has traditionally been in the form of cam-shaft driven spanwise wall oscillations and spanwise travelling Lorentz forcing. Computationally the forcing has been in the form of superimposed spanwise pressure gradients, spanwise travelling waves of an in-plane flexible wall and spanwise travelling Lorentz forcing. The aim of this work is to take the idea a step further and develop an active surface which locally executes the motions described above and making such a system more easy to manufacture. The material chosen to build the active surface texture is electroactive polymer (EAP) which is able to undergo large deflections at high frequencies. This work reports the development and testing of one version of these active walls, namely one executing in-plane local oscillations with an amplitude close to the mean streak spacing in a turbulent flow. The effect of this surface was confined to wallnormal heights on the order of the viscous sub-layer of the turbulent boundary layer, and frequency and wavelength similar to those reported in literature. Direct measurement of friction drag using a purposely-developed drag balance and extensive hot-wire measurements are presented for the systematic variation of the relevant parameters for turbulent friction drag reduction.