A table-shaped tactile sensor for detecting triaxial force on the basis of strain distribution.

A slim and flexible tactile sensor applicable to the interaction of human and intelligent robots is presented. In particular, a simple sensing principle for decoupling of three-dimensional force is proposed. Sensitivity of the proposed tactile sensor is tested experimentally. To improve the sensitivity of the sensor, a table-shaped sensing element was designed. Table-shaped structure can convert an external acting force into concentrated internal stress. A "triaxial force decoupling algorithm" was developed by combining two-dimensional mapping data calculated by finite element analysis. The sensor was calibrated under normal and tangential forces. The external loads applied to the sensor could be decoupled independently as a function of the strain-gauge responses.