Design and Characterization of a Three-Axis Hall Effect-Based Soft Skin Sensor.

Tito Tomo,Harris Kristanto,Weijie Huang,Shigeki Sugano,Alexander Schmitz,Lorenzo Jamone,Sophon Somlor

doi:10.3390/s16040491

Abstract

This paper presents an easy means to produce a 3-axis Hall effect–based skin sensor for robotic applications. It uses an off-the-shelf chip and is physically small and provides digital output. Furthermore, the sensor has a soft exterior for safe interactions with the environment; in particular it uses soft silicone with about an 8 mm thickness. Tests were performed to evaluate the drift due to temperature changes, and a compensation using the integral temperature sensor was implemented. Furthermore, the hysteresis and the crosstalk between the 3-axis measurements were evaluated. The sensor is able to detect minimal forces of about 1 gf. The sensor was calibrated and results with total forces up to 1450 gf in the normal and tangential directions of the sensor are presented. The test revealed that the sensor is able to measure the different components of the force vector.

Highlights

IntroductionTactile sensors are crucial for a safe and robust interaction of a robot with its environment
Tactile sensors are crucial for a safe and robust interaction of a robot with its environment.They provide the most direct measurements of the contact forces during planned and accidental contacts
In order to appropriately react to contact forces, it is beneficial if the force sensors are distributed in the robot skin and measure normal forces, and shear forces

Summary

Introduction

Tactile sensors are crucial for a safe and robust interaction of a robot with its environment. They provide the most direct measurements of the contact forces during planned and accidental contacts. A soft capacitive-type sensor that could measure force in 3-axis was introduced in [2]. This sensor had high sensitivity and could measure normal and shear forces, each sensor required space of approximately 13 mm 13 mm (from the center of one sensor to another).

Methods

Results

Conclusion