A 3-Phase Electrostatic Clutch with Variable Mechanical Impedance Control for Soft Robotic Systems

A 3-Phase Electrostatic Clutch with Variable Mechanical Impedance Control for Soft Robotic Systems | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article A 3-Phase Electrostatic Clutch with Variable Mechanical Impedance Control for Soft Robotic Systems Joonbum Bae, Dongyoung Lee, Heejin Yu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5786784/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Various studies have explored mechanical impedance control strategies in soft actuators to enhance stability and precision, as the nonlinear characteristics of soft materials frequently lead to unwanted oscillations. Among these approaches, electrostatic (ES) clutches have shown promise for achieving friction-based mechanical impedance control; however, conventional ES clutches are limited by issues such as residual charge accumulation and stick-slip behavior, which compromise force stability and reliability over time. To address these limitations, this study introduces a 3-phase ES clutch with variable mechanical impedance control, designed to enable continuous friction modulation and thereby reduce force degradation and oscillatory motion. Experimental validation was conducted through tensile tests and mechanical impedance applications in an MCK (Mass-Damper-Spring) vibration system, where the 3-phase ES clutch demonstrated stable friction characteristics without performance loss over repeated activations. When incorporated into a wearable assistive device, the clutch effectively delivered torque assistance for lower-limb movements, demonstrating its potential to achieve precise control of mechanical impedance in wearable systems. These findings suggest that the proposed 3-phase ES clutch offers a robust and adaptable solution for friction modulation and mechanical impedance in soft robotic and wearable systems, effectively addressing the key limitations of conventional ES clutch technology. Physical sciences/Engineering/Mechanical engineering Physical sciences/Engineering/Electrical and electronic engineering Physical sciences/Materials science/Soft materials/Polymers Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupportingInformation.docx Supporting Information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5786784","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":411372714,"identity":"be6e2bed-28d8-45bc-bcaa-f03527f1865a","order_by":0,"name":"Joonbum Bae","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAyklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxhk8QLIiAS5gQKSWM6RoYZAAamFsI0UL8+zegx8+zkuTM29vfsDwo4bB2LyBkMPmnEuWnLktx1jmzDEDxp5jDGYyBwhpmZFjIM27rSJxhkSCAQNvA4ONBCGHAbUY//47B6hF/vkHxr9EajGTZmzIAdrCY8AMtMWMsJY559Ise46lGUvw5BQcljkmYUxQi+Hs3sM3ftQky0mwH9/48E2NjeEMgloakDgHgNFESAMDgzxhJaNgFIyCUTDiAQB1mjtjF9xGlQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Korea University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Joonbum","middleName":"","lastName":"Bae","suffix":""},{"id":411372715,"identity":"19479641-9d6d-4011-9b89-79cc7372f316","order_by":1,"name":"Dongyoung Lee","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6716-1023","institution":"Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dongyoung","middleName":"","lastName":"Lee","suffix":""},{"id":411372716,"identity":"4e8fcd65-e202-48e8-982c-042f93806c4e","order_by":2,"name":"Heejin Yu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Heejin","middleName":"","lastName":"Yu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-01-08 07:45:08","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5786784/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5786784/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":82175741,"identity":"b9a65c8d-3a01-45ce-a399-7588736765b1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-05-07 11:08:47","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":6292456,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Article File","description":"","filename":"Mainmanuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5786784/v1_covered_40ce7722-eb80-4df2-93a5-927f3ea79007.pdf"},{"id":75571959,"identity":"46e2e0cc-ee55-4947-880b-fdb41af40e7c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-02-06 03:37:53","extension":"docx","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":1526692,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Supporting Information","description":"","filename":"SupportingInformation.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5786784/v1/522d846add8c0ce651386caa.docx"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"A 3-Phase Electrostatic Clutch with Variable Mechanical Impedance Control for Soft Robotic Systems","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5786784/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5786784/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Various studies have explored mechanical impedance control strategies in soft actuators to enhance stability and precision, as the nonlinear characteristics of soft materials frequently lead to unwanted oscillations. Among these approaches, electrostatic (ES) clutches have shown promise for achieving friction-based mechanical impedance control; however, conventional ES clutches are limited by issues such as residual charge accumulation and stick-slip behavior, which compromise force stability and reliability over time. To address these limitations, this study introduces a 3-phase ES clutch with variable mechanical impedance control, designed to enable continuous friction modulation and thereby reduce force degradation and oscillatory motion. Experimental validation was conducted through tensile tests and mechanical impedance applications in an MCK (Mass-Damper-Spring) vibration system, where the 3-phase ES clutch demonstrated stable friction characteristics without performance loss over repeated activations. 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