Jianglong Guo

Investigation of relationship between interfacial electroadhesive force and surface texture

A novel investigation into the relationship between the obtainable interfacial electroadhesive forces and different surface textures is presented in this paper. Different surface textures were generated then characterized based on a recognized areal-based non-contact surface texture measurement platform and procedure. An advanced electroadhesive force measurement platform and procedure were then implemented to measure the obtainable electroadhesive forces on those different surface textures. The results show that the obtained interfacial electroadhesive forces increase with decreasing Sq (root mean square height) value of the substrate surface provided that the difference in Sq between the different substrates is over 5 μm. Also, the higher the applied voltage, the larger the relative increase in electroadhesive forces observed. However, when the difference of Sq value between different substrate surfaces is below 2 μm, the obtained interfacial electroadhesive forces do not necessarily increase with decreasing Sq. Furthermore, the obtainable electroadhesive forces are not necessarily the same when the Sq value of two substrate surfaces are the same due to the fact that the direction of the surface texture plays an important role in achieving electroadhesive forces.

Optimization and experimental verification of coplanar interdigital electroadhesives

A simplified and novel theoretical model for coplanar interdigital electroadhesives has been presented in this paper. The model has been verified based on a mechatronic and reconfigurable testing platform, and a repeatable testing procedure. The theoretical results have shown that, for interdigital electroadhesive pads to achieve the maximum electroadhesive forces on non-conductive substrates, there is an optimum electrode width/space between electrodes (width/space) ratio, approximately 1.8. On conductive substrates, however, the width/space ratio should be as large as possible. The 2D electrostatic simulation results have shown that, the optimum ratio is significantly affected by the existence of the air gap and substrate thickness variation. A novel analysis of the force between the electroadhesive pad and the substrate has highlighted the inappropriateness to derive the normal forces by the division of the measured shear forces and the friction coefficients. In addition, the electroadhesive forces obtained in a 5 d period in an ambient environment have highlighted the importance of controlling the environment when testing the pads to validate the models. Based on the confident experimental platform and procedure, the results obtained have validated the theoretical results. The results are useful insights for the investigation into environmentally stable and optimized electroadhesives.

A Concept Selection Method for Designing Climbing Robots

This paper presents a concept selection methodology, inspired by the Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (VDI) model and Pughs weighted matrix method, for designing climbing robots conceptually based on an up-to-date literature review. The proposed method is illustrated with a case study of ongoing research, the investigation of an adaptable and energetically autonomous climbing robot, in Loughborough University.

Experimental study of relationship between interfacial electroadhesive force and applied voltage for different substrate materials

An experimental investigation into the relationship between the interfacial electroadhesive force and applied voltage up to 20 kV has been presented. Normal electroadhesive forces have been obtained between a double-electrode electroadhesive pad and three optically flat and different substrate materials: glass, acrylic, and polycarbonate. The results have shown that not all substrate materials are good for the generation of electroadhesive forces. Only 15.7 Pa has been obtained between the pad and the polycarbonate substrate under 20 kV, whereas 46.3 Pa and 123.4 Pa have been obtained on the acrylic and glass substrate, respectively. Based on the experimental data, empirical models, with an adjusted R-square value above 0.995 in all cases, have been obtained for the three substrates. However, it has not been possible to develop a general empirical model which is suitable for all substrates. This further indicates the need for a large quantity of experimental data to obtain robust empirical models for diff...

Toward adaptive and intelligent electroadhesives for robotic material handling

An autonomous, adaptive, and intelligent electroadhesive material handling system has been presented in this paper. The system has been proposed and defined based on the identification of a system need through a comprehensive literature review and laboratory-based experimental tests. The proof of the proposed concept has been implemented by a low cost and novel electroadhesive pad design and manufacture process, and a mechatronic and reconfigurable platform, where force, humidity, and capacitive sensors have been employed. This provides a solution to an autonomous elelctroadhesive material handling system that is environmentally and substrate material adaptive. The results have shown that the minimum voltage can be applied to robustly grasp different materials under different environment conditions. The proposed system is particularly useful for pick-and-place applications where various types of materials and changing environments exist such as robotic material handling applications in the textile and waste recycling industry.

Experimental study of a flexible and environmentally stable electroadhesive device

Electroadhesion is a promising adhesion mechanism for robotics and material handling applications due to several distinctive advantages it has over existing technologies. These advantages include enhanced adaptability, gentle/flexible handling, reduced complexity, and ultra-low energy consumption. Unstable electroadhesive forces, however, can arise in ambient environments. Electroadhesive devices that can produce stable forces in changing environments are thus desirable. In this study, a flexible and environmentally stable electroadhesive device was designed and manufactured by conformally coating a layer of barium titanate dielectric on a chemically etched thin copper laminate. The results, obtained from an advanced electroadhesive “normal force” testing platform, show that only a relative difference of 5.94% in the normal force direction was observed. This was achieved when the relative humidity changed from 25% to 53%, temperature from 13.7 °C to 32.8 °C, and atmospheric pressure from 999 hPa to 1016.9...

Symmetrical electroadhesives independent of different interfacial surface conditions

Current electroadhesive actuators cannot produce stable electroadhesive forces on the same substrate with different interfacial surface interactions. It is, therefore, desirable to develop electroadhesive actuators that can generate stable adhesive forces on different surface conditions. A symmetrical electroadhesive pad that is independent of different interfacial scratch directions is developed and presented. A relative difference of only 6.4% in the normal force direction was observed when the electroadhesive was facing an aluminium plate with surface scratch directions of 0°, 45°, 90°, and 135°. This step-change improvement may significantly promote the application of electroadhesion technology. In addition, this manifests that significant performance improvements could be achieved via further investigations into electroadhesive designs.