• Optics and Precision Engineering
  • Vol. 31, Issue 4, 470 (2023)
Sitong LU*, Bochen LI, Jiya YAN, and Qiang LI
Author Affiliations
  • School of Mechanical and Material Engineering, North China University of Technology, Beijing100144, China
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    DOI: 10.37188/OPE.20233104.0470 Cite this Article
    Sitong LU, Bochen LI, Jiya YAN, Qiang LI. A tactile force/Angle perception method for flexible humanoid finger joints[J]. Optics and Precision Engineering, 2023, 31(4): 470 Copy Citation Text show less

    Abstract

    To realize the sensing function of flexible bionic robots, sensors need to be integrated and flexible; otherwise, it is difficult to achieve a good application effect owing to the lack of compliance. To obtain a flexible tactile force/strain sensing fiber based on liquid conductive metal, this study considers as an application carrier a flexible bionic finger that can completely fit the carrier to measure the tactile force of the fingertip and joint angle. Specifically, liquid conductive metal is injected into a prefabricated silicone hose having a certain length instead of conventional microfluidics. This enables the formation of flexible sensing fibers that are tubular and which can be arbitrarily deformed and arranged, thus realizing the detection of different deformation physical quantities (this study utilizes its force and strain sensing properties). This method can considerably reduce the complexity of the microfluidic channel process while ensuring the flexibility and functionality of the device. Experimental results show that the flexible sensing fiber based on liquid conductive metal can be embedded and fully fit the flexible finger structure, and can simultaneously realize the sensing of the tactile force and joint angle changes of the finger as well as accurate tracking at a specific force/angle, demonstrating its role as a flexible sensing unit. The proposed method has excellent potential for application to more types of flexible or software application carriers.
    Sitong LU, Bochen LI, Jiya YAN, Qiang LI. A tactile force/Angle perception method for flexible humanoid finger joints[J]. Optics and Precision Engineering, 2023, 31(4): 470
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