Shinya Kajikawa

Development of a flexible structural contact force sensor for a grasping task by robot hand

In this paper, we propose a new type of contact force sensor. This sensor can detect contact location and can measure four-axis contact forces. The contact part of this sensor is composed of a silicon rubber, allowing this sensor to contact to objects softly. The structure of this sensor and the methods for calculating the contact location and the four-axis contact forces are proposed. A flexible structure is one of the characteristics of this sensor. We confirm if this character is available to absorb impact force when the sensor and environment are in contact. In addition, the effectiveness of this sensor in a task involving the grasping of an object by a robot hand is also demonstrated.

Development and fundamental characteristics of a flexible structural tactile sensor

A tactile sensor, which has a flexible structure for measuring contact force, is presented. This sensor has two strain gages, which measure the deformation of this sensor. This sensor can estimate a contact location and amount of contact force. A model of flexible deformation was described by stiffness equations, which include several geometric parameters of the sensor. The model was simulated and compared to experimental data. The comparison shows that the model can accurately estimate a contact location and the amount of contact force. Additional results of the model were compared with experimental data that is assumed to apply in a real environment. As the result, accuracy of the estimated results is under 10% when an upper limit is fixed.