Abstract
In order to obtain external information and ensure the security of human–computer interaction, a double sensitive layer structured tactile sensor was proposed in this paper. Based on the EIT (Electrical Impedance Tomography) method, the sensor converts the information from external collisions or contact into local conductivity changes, and realizes the detection of one or more contact points. These changes can be processed into an image containing positional and force information. The experiments were conducted on the actual sensor sample. The OpenCV toolkit was used to process the positional information of contact points. The distributional regularities of errors in positional detection were analyzed, and the accuracy of the positional detection was evaluated. The effectiveness, sensitivity, and contact area of the force detection were analyzed based on the result of the EIT calculations. Furthermore, multi-object tests of pressure were conducted. The results of the experiment indicated that the proposed sensor performed well in detecting the position and force of contact. It is suitable for human–robot interaction.
Highlights
With the increase in intelligence and the growth of security demands, robots need to interact more with the external environment, such as collaborative robots, mobile robots, and medical robots
The tactile sensor is focused on the external informational acquisition for the robot and has received wide attention in human–robot interactions [2]
According to their functional principle, they can be divided into resistive tactile sensors [3], capacitive tactile sensors [4], piezoresistive tactile sensors [5], piezoelectric tactile sensors [6], optical tactile sensors [7], magnetic tactile sensors [8], and ultrasonic tactile sensors [9]
Summary
With the increase in intelligence and the growth of security demands, robots need to interact more with the external environment, such as collaborative robots, mobile robots, and medical robots. The tactile sensor is focused on the external informational acquisition for the robot and has received wide attention in human–robot interactions [2]. According to their functional principle, they can be divided into resistive tactile sensors [3], capacitive tactile sensors [4], piezoresistive tactile sensors [5], piezoelectric tactile sensors [6], optical tactile sensors [7], magnetic tactile sensors [8], and ultrasonic tactile sensors [9]. A new EIT-based flexible tactile sensor with higher detection accuracy was presented, which makes positional detection possible. The sensor is flexible and can be wrapped on the robot conveniently
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