University of Washington

U.S. Army Research Laboratory

Timothy Amish

Joshua R Smith

Jeffrey Lipton

Jeffrey Auletta

Chad Christopher Kessens

An electrostatic clutch includes a shaft having an electrically conductive first layer. The clutch also includes a hold attachment rotatably coupled to the shaft and a tension band having an electrically conductive second layer. The tension band is wrapped around the shaft such that a first end of the tension band is coupled to the hold attachment. The clutch includes a dielectric material disposed between the first layer and the second layer and a load attachment rotatably coupled to the shaft. The clutch is configured for an engaged mode where a voltage applied between the first layer and the second layer causes the tension band to clasp the shaft and the load attachment and the hold attachment to be rotationally locked to the shaft, and for a disengaged mode where the voltage is absent and the shaft can rotate freely with respect to the load attachment and the hold attachment.

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Seattle, WA, United States of America

Timothy Amish