In this paper, we report real-time measurement results of various contact forces exerted on a new flexible capacitive three-axis tactile sensor array based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). A unit sensor consists of two thick PDMS layers with embedded copper electrodes, a spacer layer, an insulation layer and a bump layer. There are four capacitors in a unit sensor to decompose a contact force in...

This paper describes the development of a novel humanoid robot foot/ankle based on an orientation Parallel Kinematic Mechanism for intelligent and flexible control. With three identical Universal-Prismatic-Spherical prismatic-actuated limbs and a central Universal-Revolute passive limb, the PKM can perform three degrees of freedom rotation motions. In order to enable the humanoid robot safely t...

Measuring the radial collision force between the steam generator tube (SGT) and the tube support plate (TSP) is essential to assess the fretting damage of the SGT. In order to measure the radial collision force, a novel miniaturized force sensor based on fiber Fabry-Perot (F-P) was designed, and the principle and characteristics of the sensor were analyzed in detail. Then, the F-P force sensor ...

Tactile sensing is an important perception mode for robots, but the existing tactile technologies have multiple limitations. What kind of tactile information robots need, and how to use the information, remain open questions. We believe a soft sensor surface and high-resolution sensing of geometry should be important components of a competent tactile sensor. In this paper, we discuss the develo...

The tiger beetle can maintain its stability by controlling the interaction force between its legs and an unstructured terrain while it runs. The biomimetic hexapod robot mimics a tiger beetle, and a comprehensive force sensing system combined with certain algorithms can provide force information that can help the robot understand the unstructured terrain that it interacts with. This study intro...

Because of the micro/nano manipulation’s complexity, the accurate feedback information of the micro interactive force acting on micro devices is quite important and necessary for micro/nano manipulation, especially the 2-D micro interactive force feedback information. At present, there are no reliable and accurate 2-D micro force sensors applied in micro/nano manipulation. To solve the above pr...

A simple noncontact force sensor based on an optical fiber Bragg grating attached to a small magnet has been proposed and built. The sensor measures the force between the magnet and any ferromagnetic material placed within a few millimeters of the sensor. Maintaining the sensor at a constant standoff distance, material loss due to corrosion increases the distance between the magnet and the corr...

A resonating silicon-beam force sensor is being developed using micromachining of silicon and IC-compatible processes. Results are reported here of measurements on the force-to-frequency transfer of bare silicon prototypes. The measurements with forces on the sensor beam up to 0.4 N show a frequency shift of 3.1 to 5.2 times the unloaded resonance frequency f. (fo = 3 to 5 kHz), depending on th...