The team wrote a paper called “Electroadhesive Clutches with Multilayered Architecture">High Performance Electroadhesive Clutches with Multilayered Architecture.” This paper was published on February 14 in the journal Science Advances. Colgate is the main author of the paper. Bekir Aksoy, a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Robotics and Biosystems, is the first author.
Electroadhesive (EA) clutches can help in robots and in devices we use with our hands. But these clutches can break because the stress is not even when they are working.
To understand this problem, the team watched the clutch while it worked. They made one side clear so they could see when it broke. They found that stress built up unevenly, which caused cracks.
“We redesigned the clutch to have layers that spread the stress evenly,” said Aksoy. This new design works better. It can hold more force while using less energy, which is important for many uses.
One use is a small device for finger rehabilitation. This device helps people recover from injuries or illnesses.
“This technology has many possibilities,” Aksoy said. “We hope to improve it for health and robots.”
Vocabulary List:
- Electroadhesive /ˌɪlɛk.trəʊ.əˈdiː.sɪv/ (adjective): Relating to a technology that uses electric charge to create adhesion.
- Clutch /klʌtʃ/ (noun): A device that connects and disconnects power transmission often used in vehicles or mechanical applications.
- Rehabilitation /ˌriː.həˈbɪl.ɪ.teɪ.ʃən/ (noun): The process of restoring someone to health or normal life through training and therapy after illness or injury.
- Stress /strɛs/ (noun): A state of mental or emotional strain resulting from challenging circumstances.
- Redesigned /ˌriː.dɪˈzaɪnd/ (verb): To design something again or in a different way.
- Energy /ˈɛn.ər.dʒi/ (noun): The strength and vitality required for sustained physical or mental activity.
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