This demo presents the Electrostatic Bellow Muscle (EBM), a flexible multipurpose
actuator that is obtained by stacking multiple bellow-shaped actuation units. EBM takes
inspiration from previous work on liquid-gap electrostatic actuators introducing a new
architecture. This novel solution makes it possible to implement an actuator that features a
flexible/multipurpose applications such as contractile muscle, pump or energy harvester, while
maintaining performance that are comparable to those of previously developed actuation
systems. Additionally, a very simple manufacturing process makes it possible to scale up force
or displacement by arranging in series or in-parallel actuators.
Specifically, the demo will show an EBM with cylindrical shape with a
diameter of 30 mm and a height sof 14 mm lifting a weight of approximately 300g with a
displacement of 6-7mm at different frequencies.
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