Moment detection by integrated tactile sensors for partner robot applications

This paper reports on moment detection by three integrated tactile sensors that detect 3-axis forces. In this study, the three integrated tactile sensors were connected along a serial bus and were mounted in a triangle shape on a circuit board. Out-of-plane moment applied on the circuit board was measured using the shearing forces and a geometric relationship of the triangle sensor allay. The principle of the proposed moment detection method was demonstrated. The experimental results showed that the sensitivity and the nonlinearity were 1.10 count/N·m and ±16% full scale, respectively. The resolution of the obtained moment was below 0.015 N∙m. The moment detection ability enables the partner robots to grasp objects correctly and to interact softly with human.