Flexible, stretchable electroadhesives based on acrylic elastomers

Abstract

Controllable adhesion is a requirement for a wide variety of applications including robotic manipulation, as well as locomotion including walking, crawling and perching. Electroadhesives have several advantages such as reversibility, low power consumption and controllability based on applied voltage. Most demonstrations of electroadhesive devices rely on fairly rigid materials, which cannot be stretched reversibly, as needed in some applications. We have developed a fast and reliable method for building soft, stretchable electroadhesive pads based on acrylic elastomers and electrodes made of carbon nanotubes. The devices produced were tested pre-deformation and in a stretched configuration. The adhesive force was determined to be in the 0.1 – 3.0 N/cm² range, depending on the adhering surface. The electroadhesive devices were integrated with pre-stretched dielectric elastomer actuators to create a device in which the adhesion force could be tuned by changes in either the applied voltage or total area.