Elastomeric Tactile Sensor with Fiducial Markers for Force Pattern Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional robotic systems are prone to catastrophic damage and safety issues due to their rigid structures, which are fragile when exposed to unexpected impact forces, leading to high repair costs and potential harm to humans. Existing tactile sensors are inadequate in detecting and responding to various forces, including shear and torque, with limitations in sensitivity and reaction time.
Innovation Solution
An elastomeric tactile sensor with an elastically deformable skin and micro mechanical pins, each marked with fiducial markers, attached to a rigid surface, captures images of these markers to determine patterns of forces through machine vision algorithms, providing sensitivity to compressive, shear, torque, and spreading forces, and enabling quick responses to prevent damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If rigid structures are used in robotic systems, then structural strength and stability are improved, but vulnerability to impact forces and safety increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies flexible tactile sensors with elastomeric skin that can deform under impact forces, allowing the robot to sense and respond to collisions before catastrophic damage occurs. The flexible nature of the sensor skin enables it to absorb and distribute impact energy while maintaining sensing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The tactile sensors are positioned at strategic locations on the robot body to detect potential impacts before they cause damage. The system continuously monitors for collision forces and can initiate protective actions (such as stopping motors or adjusting positioning) in advance to prevent catastrophic failure.
2Measurement precision
If conventional tactile sensors are used, then basic pressure detection is achieved, but sensitivity to various force patterns (shear, torque, spreading) is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The tactile sensor is divided into multiple independent sensing elements or units distributed across the elastomeric skin. Each sensing element can detect local deformations independently, allowing the system to distinguish between different force patterns (compression, shear, torque, spreading) based on the spatial distribution and orientation of deformations across multiple segments.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the tactile sensor or different sensing elements within the sensor array have specialized properties optimized for detecting specific force patterns. For example, certain elements may be more sensitive to shear forces while others detect compression, enabling comprehensive force pattern recognition across the sensor surface.
3Reliability
If reaction time to impacts is increased, then damage prevention capability is improved, but system response speed may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The tactile sensor provides continuous real-time feedback about contact forces to the robot's control system. This feedback loop enables the controller to detect impacts immediately and initiate corrective actions (such as stopping motors or adjusting joint positions) within milliseconds, preventing damage while maintaining fast response times.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The elastomeric tactile sensor effectively detects and responds to a range of forces, reducing the risk of damage and improving safety by providing high sensitivity and quick reaction times, making it suitable for robotic applications where conventional sensors fall short.
Implementation Method 1
an elastically deformable skin with an outer impact surface and an undersurface attached with flexible spaces to a rigid surface
Data Source
AI summary
A tactile sensor including a camera positioned to capture images of marks. An elastically deformable skin including an outer surface having attributes and an undersurface having pins, ridges, or both. Each undersurface pin or ridge includes a mark. A processor detects displacement of the marks in captured images and compares the displaced positions of the marks in the captured images to stored sets of prelearned positions of marks, based on a distance function, to determine a quality of match value for each set of the prelearned positions of marks. A best quality matched prelearned pattern of forces is determined using a user selected function, to calculate a best matching set of the prelearned positions of marks. Identify a pattern of forces acting on the elastically deformable skin based on the determined best matched prelearned pattern of forces.