Finger‐Skin‐Inspired Flexible Optical Sensor for Force Sensing and Slip Detection in Robotic Grasping

Abstract

by nanoengineering and flexible electronics, [4][5][6][7][8] accurate detection of physical stimuli such as pressure, temperature, and humidity has been realized in flexible tactile sensors, rendering them both high sensitivity and excellent flexibility comparable to human skin (hence the name "artificial skin"). [4,9] To allow for applications in robotics, slip detection during the grasping and manipulation of objects is a critical function that should be included in the flexible tactile sensor when used in robotic hand or manipulator. [10][11][12] Widerange force sensing and fast-response slip detection are needed in robotic grasping and dexterous manipulation for the purpose of measuring the contact force and preventing object slippage. For example, home robots and nursing robots would be expected to safely deliver objects and operate instruments, while manufacturing robots and industrial robots would be assigned to perform manipulation and assembly tasks in high precision. [11,13] However, the development of flexible tactile sensor with simultaneous force sensing and slip detection for robotic grasping still remain difficult due to considerations on sensor design, sensor performance, and sensor integration with robotic system. [13][14][15] From the application perspective, flexible tactile sensor capable of detecting the contact force and obtaining friction/slip information is desirable for intelligent robotic manipulators, if they are anticipated to adjust grasping force and posture in accordance with the shape, weight, and friction coefficient of the grasped objects for achieving dexterous manipulation and automatic grasping in scenarios such as human-machine interface, robotic surgery, intelligent manufacturing, etc.Flexible tactile sensors based on electrical sensing scheme, including capacitive, resistive, piezoelectric, and triboelectric mechanisms, have already been widely reported over the past decade. These electronic tactile sensors usually mimic the biological features of the delicate tactile sensation in human skin, such as the epidermis-dermis interface, sensory receptors, fingerprint patterns, and ionic stimuli in afferent neuron. [16][17][18][19][20] Multimodal sensing capabilities and other special properties ranging from self-healing, self-powering, energy harvesting, stimuli visualization, to environmental adaptation, have also been attempted in these electronic tactile sensors, but several drawbacks including high fabrication cost, parasite effect, complicated circuitry, and signal crosstalk may place constraints on their practical applications in robotics. [15,[21][22][23][24] AsThe finger skin of human plays a key role in amplifying and transferring tactile signals to sensory receptors, and it provides design guidelines for next-generation flexible tactile sensors. To enable robotic applications such as dexterous manipulation and tactile feedback, the functions of force sensing and slip detection are crucial for flexible tactile sensors. Here, a finger-skin inspired flexible optical (FIFO...

Coaxial Graphene/MXene Microfibers with Interfacial Buffer-Based Lightweight Distance Sensors Assisting Lossless Grasping of Fragile and Deformable Objects

“…7−15 Although these sensors can feed back the grasping behavior of the manipulator to a certain extent, their practical application in the field of robotics is restricted by high manufacturing cost, parasitic effect, complex circuit, and signal crosstalk. 16,17 Additionally, these sensors themselves have a relatively large volume and mass. When they are installed on a robotic manipulator, they will reduce the flexibility of the device and increase energy consumption in the actual operation.…”

Recent Progress of Biomimetic Tactile Sensing Technology Based on Magnetic Sensors

“…Tactile sensors have played an important role in medical treatment [ 1 , 2 ], artificial skin [ 3 , 4 ], robot tactile feedback [ 5 ], and human–machine interaction [ 6 , 7 ]. With the discovery of new materials and the development of microelectronics, tactile sensors based on a variety of transducing mechanisms such as resistance [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ], capacitance [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ], piezoelectric [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ], and optics [ 20 , 21 , 22 ] have been developed.…”

Smart laparoscopic grasper integrated with fiber Bragg grating based tactile sensor for real‐time force feedback

“…[9] Imitating the structural characteristics of human finger skin, Jiang et al proposed a finger-skin inspired flexible optical sensor based on optical microfiber. [10] The application of flexible material sensors for force feedback has a better application prospect. [11,12] Due to the characteristics of flexibility, electromagnetic immunity, high sensitivity and light weight, the application of optical fibers as sensing elements is growing fast.…”