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Tactile sensor solution with MEMS pressure sensors in industrial robotics

Taktile Sensorik mit MEMS-basierten Drucksensoren für die Industrielle Robotik

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Abstract

Tactile sensing is essential for any haptic interaction of robots and robotic systems with their environments. Throughout this work we introduce a tactile sensing solution based on a MEMS pressure sensor consisting of an array of flexible sensor cells, which enables spatially resolving force and contact pressure measurements over a wide dynamic range at high resolution. A compelling feature of the developed sensor concept is its soft and “human-like” mechanical touch behavior, which can solve challenges regarding the handling of sensitive objects, human-like tactile perception in prosthetics, or human-robot interaction scenarios. The developed sensor solution is characterized and evaluated in a typical collaborative robot work scenario in the industry for the gripping and lifting of objects with a commercial industrial robot system.

Zusammenfassung

Herausfordernde Manipulationsaufgaben, wie zum Beispiel die Handhabung weicher oder deformierbarer Objekte oder Objekte mit hoher Formvielfalt durch Industrieroboter, profitieren von einer ergänzenden sensorischen (haptischen) Wahrnehmung. Im Zuge dieser Arbeit stellen wir eine innovative, auf MEMS-basierten Miniaturdrucksensoren beruhende, taktile Sensorlösung vor. Mit dem vorgestellten Sensorkonzept, welches flexible drucksensitive Sensorzellen in einer Sensormatrix kombiniert, wird eine örtlich auflösende Messung von Kontaktkräften und Druckverteilungen mit hoher Sensitivität und hohem Dynamikbereich ermöglicht. Eine besondere Eigenschaft der entwickelten Sensorlösung ist die weiche Kontaktqualität bei mechanischem Kontakt bzw. externer Krafteinwirkung. Diese ist dem „weichen“ Charakter der menschlichen Haut beim Berühren und Hantieren mit Objekten sehr ähnlich – ein Vorteil, der für das Hantieren mit sensitiven und fragilen Objekten oder für einen möglichst humanoiden Tast- und Greifsinn für Handprothesen oder für Mensch-Roboter-Interaktionen genutzt werden kann. Der vorliegende Beitrag evaluiert die entwickelte Sensorlösung im Detail und demonstriert deren Anwendung im Kontext einer Pick-and-Place-Anwendung für Industrierobotik.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Design Center Graz, Infineon Technologies Austria AG, Babenbergerstr. 10, 8020, Graz, Austria

    Thomas Thurner & Thomas Kammerhofer

  2. Robotics – Institute for Robotics and flexible Production, Joanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft, Klagenfurt, Austria

    Bernhard Reiterer

  3. Robotics – Institute for Robotics and flexible Production, Joanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft, Klagenfurt, Austria

    Michael Hofbaur

  4. Smart Systems Technologies, University of Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt, Austria

    Michael Hofbaur

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  1. Thomas Thurner
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  2. Thomas Kammerhofer
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  4. Michael Hofbaur
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Correspondence to Thomas Thurner.

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Thomas Thurner and Thomas Kammerhofer contributed equally to this work.

M. Hofbaur is an OVE member.

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Thurner, T., Kammerhofer, T., Reiterer, B. et al. Tactile sensor solution with MEMS pressure sensors in industrial robotics. Elektrotech. Inftech. 140, 541–550 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00502-023-01159-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00502-023-01159-9

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