Rapid De-Electroadhesion With Exponential Decay Alternating Voltages

Due to the existence of residual charges, electroadhesion usually suffers from slow de-electroadhesion (in the range of several minutes to hours), significantly limiting its application in handling lightweight objects. To date, mechanical push or vibration is the main solution to achieve rapid de-electroadhesion, resulting in the complexity and inefficiency of electroadhesive devices. Inversely charging provides an ideal solution, but the voltage form remains elusive. In this work, we report an electrical solution that can achieve rapid de-electroadhesion by applying a programmable exponential decay alternative voltage. We investigate the influence of voltage parameters (including the decay factor, lasting time, and the number of alternations) on de-electroadhesion time. The results reveal that the de-electroadhesion time can be reduced by decreasing the decay factor and lasting time and increasing the number of alternations. The experimental results of different substrates (regular paper, copper, and kraft paper) demonstrate that our method can achieve fast release of the electroadhesion and the release time can be reduced by three orders, verifying the effectiveness of the electrically controlled rapid de-electroadhesion method.

Automated summary

Electroadhesion often suffers from slow de-electroadhesion due to residual charges, limiting its application in handling lightweight objects. In this study, we propose an electrical solution using programmable exponential decay alternative voltage to achieve rapid de-electroadhesion. We investigate the influence of voltage parameters on de-electroadhesion time and demonstrate the effectiveness of our method in achieving fast release of electroadhesion.