Robots have taken the place of human operators in hazardous and challenging jobs requiring high dexterity in manipulation, and robots with skin for force and tactile sensing that mimics the function of mechanoreception in animals will be highly dexterous in performing complex tasks. In this study, we propose the design of modular robotic skin, capable of detecting the magnitude and the location of a contact force simultaneously. Each skin module needs three degrees of freedom in sensing in order to estimate the horizontal and the vertical locations of the contact force as well as its magnitude. Force sensing in the proposed skin is enabled by a custom-designed triangular beam structure underneath the skin cover. A force applied to the skin cover causes the bending of the beam, which is detected by fiber optic strain sensors. The result shows the resolutions of 1.45 N for force estimation and 1.85 and 1.91 mm for contact localization in horizontal and vertical directions, respectively. We also demonstrate how the proposed skin can be used for remote and autonomous control of commercial robotic arms equipped with an array of the skin modules.

中文翻译：

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用于远程自主机器人控制的模块化机器人皮肤的光纤力传感

机器人已经取代了人类操作员，从事需要高度灵巧操作的危险和具有挑战性的工作，而具有皮肤力和触觉感知功能、模仿动物机械感受功能的机器人将在执行复杂任务时非常灵巧。在这项研究中，我们提出了模块化机器人皮肤的设计，能够同时检测接触力的大小和位置。每个皮肤模块需要三个传感自由度，以便估计接触力的水平和垂直位置及其大小。所提出的皮肤中的力感测是通过皮肤覆盖层下方的定制设计的三角梁结构来实现的。施加到皮肤覆盖层上的力会导致梁弯曲，光纤应变传感器可以检测到该弯曲。结果显示，力估计的分辨率为 1.45 N，水平和垂直方向的接触定位分辨率分别为 1.85 和 1.91 mm。我们还演示了如何使用所提出的皮肤对配备一系列皮肤模块的商用机械臂进行远程和自主控制。