Abstract
Temperature sensing is an important parameter needed to be measured by the eSkin during the physical interaction of robots with real-world objects. Yet, most of the work on sensors in eSkin has focused on pressure sensing. Here we present a skin conformable printed temperature sensor with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly (styr-enesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)-graphene oxide (GO) as a temperature sensitive layer and silver (Ag) as contact electrodes. The demonstration of PEDOT:PSS/GO as a highly temperature sensitive layer is the distinct feature of the work. The response of presented sensor observed over ~25 °C (room temperature (RT)) to 100°C, by measuring the variation in resistance across the GO/PEDOT:PSS layer showed ~80% decrease in resistance. The sensitivity of the sensor was found to be 1.09% per °C. The sensor’s response was also observed under static and dynamic bending (for 1000 cycles) conditions. The stable and repeatable response of sensor, in both cases, signifies strong adhesion of the layers with negligible delamination or debonding. In comparison to the commercial thermistor, the printed GO/PEDOT:PSS sensor is faster (~73% superior) with response and recovery times of 18 s and 32 s respectively. Finally, the sensor was attached to a robotic hand to allow the robot to act by using temperature feedback.
Highlights
E LECTRONIC skin for robotics has attracted significant interest in recent years as it is critical for safe manipulation and exploration of objects and for safe human-machine interaction
The sensor was placed over a hot plate maintained at room temperature (RT) to get the stable response of the sensor
A minimal variation of ∼ 2% in R/R0 at RT with respect to the response of the sensor can be observed in Fig. 2 (a) for initial 15 s
Summary
E LECTRONIC skin (eSkin) for robotics has attracted significant interest in recent years as it is critical for safe manipulation and exploration of objects and for safe human-machine interaction. The increasing focus on haptic feedback in new applications such as autonomous vehicles and in industry 4.0 settings are contributing to the advances in eSkin technology. Most of the work on sensors in the eSkin has focused on pressure or force sensing as evident from wide variety of pressure/force and strain sensors developed using various organic/inorganic materials [1]–[4]. The associate editor coordinating the review of this article and approving it for publication was Dr Giuseppe Barillaro.
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