A continuum body force sensor designed for flexible surgical robotics devices

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Sensor Technology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Soft robotic manipulators require precise force and torque sensing for safe and effective operation.
• Existing sensing solutions may not be compatible with the flexible and compliant nature of soft robots.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel three-axis force sensor for soft robotic manipulators.
• To integrate the sensor with the STIFF-FLOP (STIFFness controllable Flexible and Learnable Manipulator for Surgical Operations) robot arm.
• To enable real-time estimation of external interacting forces and torques.

Main Methods:

• Design and fabrication of a ring-shaped, bio-compatible optical sensor using photo interrupters.
• Integration of the sensor with the STIFF-FLOP manipulator's distributed actuation and sensing system.
• Development of a stiffness sensor matrix for force and torque component estimation.

Main Results:

• Experimental calibration established the sensor's performance characteristics.
• The sensor effectively measures three-axis forces and torques.
• The optical sensing approach demonstrated its utility and reliability.

Conclusions:

• The novel optical force sensor is a viable solution for soft robotic applications.
• The sensor's design is adaptable to various soft robotic manipulator geometries.
• This technology advances the capabilities of compliant robotic systems in interaction tasks.