Abstract
Traditionally the tension structures are built by passive wires unable to give information about the state of the system or to excite an actuation from within. Using dielectric elastomers (DEs) to distribute tension forces, both can be achieved within the structure itself. DEs are thin silicone membranes that are printed with a flexible, conductive electrode on both sides, resulting in a capacitor with variable geometry. To integrate slim DEs that can not only be used as actuators and sensors but also assume the role of passive tension elements, the membrane is being rolled up to be used as a stiffer, centrical elastomer beam which is called a rolled dielectric elastomer (RDE). These smart elements are characterized by capacitance-displacement and force-displacement measurements. Especially the linearity of the sensor signal in relation to the applied stretch allows for a good displacement reconstruction, while this work concentrates on the first design and feasibility investigation. Here a first table like tensegrity structure has been designed based on RDEs as soft displacement elements. The structure has been built and tested with an integrated sensing electronic for simultaneous sensor monitoring.
