{"title":"Strong Reliable Electrostatic Actuation Based on Self-Clearing Using a Thin Conductive Layer.","authors":"Guoyong Xie, Dongliang Fan, Huacen Wang, Renjie Zhu, Jianjun Mao, Hongqiang Wang","doi":"10.1089/soro.2022.0132","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Electrostatic adhesion, as a promising actuation technique for soft robotics, severely suffers from the failure caused by the unpredictable electrical breakdown. This study proposes a novel self-clearing mechanism for electrostatic actuators, particularly for electrostatic adhesion. By simply employing an enough thin conductive layer (e.g., <7 μm for copper), this method can spontaneously clear the conductor around the breakdown sites effectively once breakdowns onset and survive the actuator shortly after the electrical damage. Compared with previous self-clearing methods, which typically rely on new specific materials, this mechanism is easy to operate and compatible with various materials and fabrication processes. In our tests, it can improve the maximum available voltage by 260% and the maximum electrostatic adhesive force by 276%. In addition, the robustness and repeatability of the self-clearing mechanism are validated by surviving consecutive breakdowns and self-clearing of 173 times during 65 min. This method is also demonstrated to be capable of recovering the electrostatic pad from severe physical damages such as punctures, penetrations, and cuttings successfully and enabling stable and reliable operation of the electrostatic clutch, or gripping, for example, even after the short-circuit takes place for hundreds of times. Therefore, the proposed self-clearing method sheds new light on high performance and more extensive practical applications of electrostatic actuators in the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":48685,"journal":{"name":"Soft Robotics","volume":"10 4","pages":"797-807"},"PeriodicalIF":6.4000,"publicationDate":"2023-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Soft Robotics","FirstCategoryId":"94","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1089/soro.2022.0132","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2023/2/28 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ROBOTICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
Electrostatic adhesion, as a promising actuation technique for soft robotics, severely suffers from the failure caused by the unpredictable electrical breakdown. This study proposes a novel self-clearing mechanism for electrostatic actuators, particularly for electrostatic adhesion. By simply employing an enough thin conductive layer (e.g., <7 μm for copper), this method can spontaneously clear the conductor around the breakdown sites effectively once breakdowns onset and survive the actuator shortly after the electrical damage. Compared with previous self-clearing methods, which typically rely on new specific materials, this mechanism is easy to operate and compatible with various materials and fabrication processes. In our tests, it can improve the maximum available voltage by 260% and the maximum electrostatic adhesive force by 276%. In addition, the robustness and repeatability of the self-clearing mechanism are validated by surviving consecutive breakdowns and self-clearing of 173 times during 65 min. This method is also demonstrated to be capable of recovering the electrostatic pad from severe physical damages such as punctures, penetrations, and cuttings successfully and enabling stable and reliable operation of the electrostatic clutch, or gripping, for example, even after the short-circuit takes place for hundreds of times. Therefore, the proposed self-clearing method sheds new light on high performance and more extensive practical applications of electrostatic actuators in the future.
期刊介绍:
Soft Robotics (SoRo) stands as a premier robotics journal, showcasing top-tier, peer-reviewed research on the forefront of soft and deformable robotics. Encompassing flexible electronics, materials science, computer science, and biomechanics, it pioneers breakthroughs in robotic technology capable of safe interaction with living systems and navigating complex environments, natural or human-made.
With a multidisciplinary approach, SoRo integrates advancements in biomedical engineering, biomechanics, mathematical modeling, biopolymer chemistry, computer science, and tissue engineering, offering comprehensive insights into constructing adaptable devices that can undergo significant changes in shape and size. This transformative technology finds critical applications in surgery, assistive healthcare devices, emergency search and rescue, space instrument repair, mine detection, and beyond.