Evaluation of Omni-Directional Tactile Sensor for Force Vector Measurement

Abstract

In this study, we tested the application of a load to the elastomer hemisphere, the sensing part of the sensor, from all directions to measure the load vector using a micro-cantilever-type MEMS tactile sensor. The results show that the sensor sensitivity depends on the relative positional relationship between the cantilever and the hemispherical projection and the 3-D polar coordinate position of the load on the hemispherical projection. This indicates that the position and magnitude of the applied load to the sensor can be estimated with high accuracy by measuring the relationship between the applied load position and the sensor sensitivity in advance.