System and method for dynamic self-sensing of dielectric elastomer actuators

摘要

A system and method is provided for determining the capacitance between electrodes of an artificial muscle or dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA). The method comprises measuring the voltage difference between the electrodes of the DEA, the first derivative of that voltage with respect to time, and the total instantaneous current through the DEA, then calculating the capacitance of the DEA as the difference between the total instantaneous current through the DEA and the product of the voltage between the electrodes and an error term, divided by the first derivative of the voltage between the electrodes with respect to time. The capacitance may then be used to derive estimates of the leakage current, charge upon the DEA, and/or the physical state of the DEA, thereby implementing self-sensing to allow closed-loop feedback control of DEA actuation.

主权项

1. A system for determining the capacitance between opposing electrodes of a dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA), the system comprising:
a DEA monitoring circuit to obtain feedback information regarding the electrical behaviour of DEA; and a computer adapted to calculate the capacitance of the DEA as the difference between the total instantaneous current through the DEA and the product of the voltage difference across the DEA and an error term, said difference being divided by the first derivative of the voltage difference across the actuator with respect to time.