Large-Area and Low-Cost Force/Tactile Capacitive Sensor for Soft Robotic Applications
This paper presents a novel design and development of a low-cost and multi-touch sensor based on capacitive variations. This new sensor is very flexible and easy to fabricate, making it an appropriate choice for soft robot applications. Materials (conductive ink, silicone, and control boards) used i...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-05-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/11/4083 |
| _version_ | 1797491718106382336 |
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| author | Amir Pagoli Frédéric Chapelle Juan-Antonio Corrales-Ramon Youcef Mezouar Yuri Lapusta |
| author_facet | Amir Pagoli Frédéric Chapelle Juan-Antonio Corrales-Ramon Youcef Mezouar Yuri Lapusta |
| author_sort | Amir Pagoli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper presents a novel design and development of a low-cost and multi-touch sensor based on capacitive variations. This new sensor is very flexible and easy to fabricate, making it an appropriate choice for soft robot applications. Materials (conductive ink, silicone, and control boards) used in this sensor are inexpensive and easily found in the market. The proposed sensor is made of a wafer of different layers, silicone layers with electrically conductive ink, and a pressure-sensitive conductive paper sheet. Previous approaches like e-skin can measure the contact point or pressure of conductive objects like the human body or finger, while the proposed design enables the sensor to detect the object’s contact point and the applied force without considering the material conductivity of the object. The sensor can detect five multi-touch points at the same time. A neural network architecture is used to calibrate the applied force with acceptable accuracy in the presence of noise, variation in gains, and non-linearity. The force measured in real time by a commercial precise force sensor (ATI) is mapped with the produced voltage obtained by changing the layers’ capacitance between two electrode layers. Finally, the soft robot gripper embedding the suggested tactile sensor is utilized to grasp an object with position and force feedback signals. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:53:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e6fa460412b349feb6b31a16204d003a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T00:53:21Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-e6fa460412b349feb6b31a16204d003a2023-11-23T14:48:24ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202022-05-012211408310.3390/s22114083Large-Area and Low-Cost Force/Tactile Capacitive Sensor for Soft Robotic ApplicationsAmir Pagoli0Frédéric Chapelle1Juan-Antonio Corrales-Ramon2Youcef Mezouar3Yuri Lapusta4Institut Pascal, Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont Auvergne INP, CNRS, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, FranceInstitut Pascal, Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont Auvergne INP, CNRS, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, FranceCiTIUS (Centro Singular de Investigación en Tecnoloxías Intelixentes), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, SpainInstitut Pascal, Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont Auvergne INP, CNRS, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, FranceInstitut Pascal, Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont Auvergne INP, CNRS, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, FranceThis paper presents a novel design and development of a low-cost and multi-touch sensor based on capacitive variations. This new sensor is very flexible and easy to fabricate, making it an appropriate choice for soft robot applications. Materials (conductive ink, silicone, and control boards) used in this sensor are inexpensive and easily found in the market. The proposed sensor is made of a wafer of different layers, silicone layers with electrically conductive ink, and a pressure-sensitive conductive paper sheet. Previous approaches like e-skin can measure the contact point or pressure of conductive objects like the human body or finger, while the proposed design enables the sensor to detect the object’s contact point and the applied force without considering the material conductivity of the object. The sensor can detect five multi-touch points at the same time. A neural network architecture is used to calibrate the applied force with acceptable accuracy in the presence of noise, variation in gains, and non-linearity. The force measured in real time by a commercial precise force sensor (ATI) is mapped with the produced voltage obtained by changing the layers’ capacitance between two electrode layers. Finally, the soft robot gripper embedding the suggested tactile sensor is utilized to grasp an object with position and force feedback signals.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/11/4083soft sensortactile sensorcapacitive sensorcalibrationneural networksoft robot |
| spellingShingle | Amir Pagoli Frédéric Chapelle Juan-Antonio Corrales-Ramon Youcef Mezouar Yuri Lapusta Large-Area and Low-Cost Force/Tactile Capacitive Sensor for Soft Robotic Applications Sensors soft sensor tactile sensor capacitive sensor calibration neural network soft robot |
| title | Large-Area and Low-Cost Force/Tactile Capacitive Sensor for Soft Robotic Applications |
| title_full | Large-Area and Low-Cost Force/Tactile Capacitive Sensor for Soft Robotic Applications |
| title_fullStr | Large-Area and Low-Cost Force/Tactile Capacitive Sensor for Soft Robotic Applications |
| title_full_unstemmed | Large-Area and Low-Cost Force/Tactile Capacitive Sensor for Soft Robotic Applications |
| title_short | Large-Area and Low-Cost Force/Tactile Capacitive Sensor for Soft Robotic Applications |
| title_sort | large area and low cost force tactile capacitive sensor for soft robotic applications |
| topic | soft sensor tactile sensor capacitive sensor calibration neural network soft robot |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/11/4083 |
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