A simple and robust inter-module latch is possibly the most important component of a modular robotic system. This paper describes a latch based on electric fields and capacitive coupling. Our design provides not only significant adhesion forces, but can also be used for inter-module power transmission and communication. The key insight presented in this paper, and the factor that enables electrostatic adhesion to be effective at the macroscale, is the use of electric field attraction to generate frictional shear forces rather than electric field attraction alone. A second important insight is that a specific degree of flexibility in the electrodes is essential to maximize their mutual coupling and the resulting forces - electrodes which are too flexible or too rigid will perform less well. To evaluate the effectiveness of our latch we incorporate it into a cubic module 28 cm on a side. The result is a latch which requires almost zero static power and yet can hold 0.6 N/cm2 of latch area.
展开▼
机译：一个简单而强大的模块间闩锁可能是模块化机器人系统中最重要的组件。本文介绍了一种基于电场和电容耦合的锁存器。我们的设计不仅提供了很大的附着力，而且还可以用于模块间的功率传输和通讯。本文提出的关键见解以及使静电附着在宏观上有效的因素是使用电场吸引来产生摩擦剪切力，而不是单独使用电场吸引。第二个重要的见解是，电极中特定程度的柔韧性对于最大化它们之间的相互耦合至关重要，并且由此产生的力-太柔韧或太硬的电极的性能会变差。为了评估我们的闩锁的有效性，我们将其合并到侧面28厘米的立方模块中。结果是一个锁存器需要几乎零的静态功率，并且可以保持0.6 N / cm2的锁存面积。
展开▼
