A High Performance Muscle-like Actuator using Multi-layer Electrostatic Film Motors

Zhang, Guangwei; Osada, Masahiko; Yoshimoto, Shunsuke; Yamamoto, Akio

doi:10.1109/isie51582.2022.9831728

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…In the field of robotics, many studies have utilized electrostatic force for adhesion to walls, in the form of electro-adhesion devices [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. In other robotic applications, electrostatic actuators show promise as powerful and flexible artificial muscles for robots [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Various different configurations and driving principles have been proposed so far, which include charge induction [ 18 ], synchronous (variable capacitance) [ 10 ], capacitive voltage induction [ 19 ], and LC-resonant voltage induction [ 20 , 21 ]. Among these, the synchronous type showed superior output performance, such as thrust force in the order of a hundred newtons in a linear configuration [ 10 , 14 ]. Compared to other conventional types of electrostatic actuators, such as corona motors [ 22 , 23 ], liquid motors [ 24 ], and electret motors [ 25 , 26 ], the output performance of the synchronous film motors is found to be outstanding, due to their simple and light-weight structure realized by the use of thin sheets, which shows the advantage of utilizing films in electrostatic actuators.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Slider Sheet Detection in Charge-Induction Electrostatic Film Actuators

Kojima

Yoshimoto

Yamamoto

2023

Sensors

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This work analyzes a built-in slider detection method for a charge-induction type electrostatic film actuator with a high surface-resistance slider. In the detection method, one stator electrode is detached from the parallel driving electrodes and is dedicated to sensing. When a slider with induced charges moves over the sensing electrode, electrostatic induction occurs in the sensing electrode, which causes an electric current. The current is converted to a voltage through a detection resistance, which will be an output of the sensing circuit. This paper provides a framework to analyze the output signal waveform and shows that the waveform consists of two components. One component is caused by driving voltage and appears regardless of the existence of a slider. The other component corresponds to the movement of a slider, which appears only when a slider is moving over the sensing electrode. Therefore, the slider can be detected by monitoring the latter component. The two components generally overlap, which makes the detection of the latter component difficult in some cases. This paper proposes a method to decouple the two components by switching the detection resistance at an appropriate time. These methods are verified using a prototype actuator that has an electrode pitch of 0.6 mm. The actuator was driven with a set of pulse voltages with an amplitude of 1000 V. The experimental results show similar waveforms to the analytical results, verifying the proposed analytical framework. The performance of the sensing method as a proximity sensor was verified in the experiments, and it was confirmed that the slider can be detected when it approaches the sensing electrode within about 3 mm.

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