Performance of the Prototype Splint

As an observation, the curve for a null lengthening shows a bias force (i.e. the purely passive component, for 0 kV) which is not null. This is simply due to a slight pre-tensioning applied to the actuators in order to keep them approximately straight (the length 

Nevertheless, these data show also that the achievable active modulation of the force was rather moderate in this first prototype system in fact, it allowed a range of 1 N. Accordingly, although these data provide the first proof of concept of the proposed technique, they also suggest a need of further improvements. In particular, an increase of the electromechanical performance of the prototype actuators considered in this work is required. This could be achieved be means of three parallel approaches, whose 

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