A new design of six-axis force sensors

Abstract

A six-axis force sensor composed of two identical three-axis force sensors and a connector (Twin-Head, or TH, force sensor for short) is proposed. The theoretical basis for the operation of TH force sensors is described, and the characteristic matrix connecting the load and sensor output vectors is given. While six types of three-axis sensor are theoretically conceivable, it is proved that the only one type can result in a characteristic matrix of full rank. To make the best use of a commercially available three-axis sensor, a semi-TH force sensor, which has a connector with an additional sensing axis to give the characteristic matrix full rank, is also proposed. A semi-TH force sensor designed in this way is demonstrated. >