Adjustable Compliance Soft Sensor via an Elastically Inflatable Fluidic Dome

Sensors

Ahmad Serjouei¹  Pete Culmer²  Jun Kow²  Ali Ghanbari²  Ali Alazmani²  Dominic Jones²  Greg de Boer²  Xingtian Zhang² 

[1] Department of Engineering, School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham NG11 8NS, UK;School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK;

关键词: soft sensor;    tactile sensing;    variable stiffness;    adjustable compliance;    soft robotics;   

DOI  :  10.3390/s21061970

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Soft sensors are essential for robotic systems to safely interact with humans and the environment. Although significant research has been carried out in the field of soft tactile sensing, most of these sensors are restricted to a predefined geometry and a fixed measurement range, hence limiting their application. This paper introduces a novel approach to soft sensing by proposing a soft load-sensing unit with an adjustable mechanical compliance achieved using an elastically inflatable fluidic dome. The sensor consists of a three-dimensional Hall-effect sensor, above which is a magnet whose movement is modulated by an intermediate elastomeric dome structure. Sensor configurations were designed and fabricated using three different silicone rubbers to cover ‘00–10’ and ‘20A’ durometer shore hardness scales. We demonstrated that the compliance of the sensor could be dynamically tuned by changing the internal pressure of the inflatable fluidic dome in all configurations. We performed finite element simulations to determine the reaction force of the sensor under load as well as the stresses within the internal structural behavior, which are not possible to capture experimentally. The proposed soft sensor has the potential to be readily adapted for use in various soft robotic applications of differing size, compliance range, and safety requirements.

【 授权许可】

Unknown