Development of distributed contact sensor using a 3D printer and reflex control for an event-driven hexapod robot

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a method of manufacturing a tactile sensor using 3D printer and pressure sensitive conductive rubber. Furthermore, we propose to incorporate reflex control to avoid stumbling into Follow-the-Contact-Point(FCP) gait control. With this method, the robot performs reflex movement and prevent stumbling what is impossible with original FCP gait control. We verify whether the walking ability of the robot improves by introducing the sensor and reflex control on the real robot.