Planar 3-DOF paper sheet manipulation using electrostatic induction

This paper describes plain paper copier (PPC) paper manipulation using electrostatic induction. The principle of electrostatic induction has been known for many years, but it has not been extensively studied due to its low output performance. In this study, the principle is applied to paper sheet manipulation that does not require high output. A possible application of the paper sheet manipulation is, for example, tangible desktop interfaces. In our previous work, a tangible desktop interface using electrostatic actuator was proposed, which utilized surface actuator called Image Charge Stepping Actuator. The actuator can directly handle sheet materials on it. However, it has a limitation that the actuated sheet needs to have surface resistance of around 10¹³Ω. Typical PPC paper has smaller surface resistance and thus an alternative actuation technology is required. In this paper, electrostatic induction was utilized as an alternative to handle PPC paper. The paper investigates the basic performance of induction actuator in terms of PPC paper handling. The frequency response is characterized using a 1-DOF prototype which found the optimum driving frequency of around 1 kHz. Then, a planar 3-DOF manipulation system is prototyped using four 1-DOF electrode panels. The system demonstrated planar 3-DOF motions, which are X translation, Y translation, and rotation around the center. Although the motion stroke is limited, the motion speed reached 150 mm/s for translational motion and 15 rad/s for rotational motion.