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Parasitic Capacitance-Free Flexible Tactile Sensor with a Real-Contact Trigger.
Seonggi Kim1, Youngdo Jung1, Sunjong Oh1
1Department of Nature-Inspired Nanoconvergence Systems, Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, Daejeon, Korea.
Soft Robotics
|January 11, 2021
Summary
This study introduces a novel parasitic capacitance-free tactile sensor using a floating electrode. This innovative sensor accurately detects physical contact pressure, overcoming limitations of traditional capacitive sensors in arrays.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrical Engineering
- Robotics
Background:
- Capacitive pressure sensors offer high sensitivity and wide pressure ranges.
- Parasitic capacitance and proximity effects degrade performance, especially in sensor arrays.
- Conventional electromagnetic interference shielding is insufficient for multicell array sensors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a tactile sensor immune to parasitic capacitance and proximity effects.
- To enable accurate physical contact pressure identification in sensor arrays.
- To present a robust, consistent, and precise tactile sensing solution.
Main Methods:
- Implementation of a floating electrode design.
- Utilizing the floating electrode as a contact trigger for capacitance change.
- Testing the sensor's performance in identifying physical contact pressure.
Main Results:
- The proposed sensor effectively distinguishes physical contact from parasitic effects.
- Demonstrated a wide pressure response range up to 2.4 MPa.
- Achieved a sensitivity of 0.179 MPa⁻¹ (up to 0.74 MPa) with negligible hysteresis.
Conclusions:
- The parasitic capacitance-free tactile sensor with a floating electrode is a viable solution for accurate pressure sensing.
- The developed method enhances the reliability of tactile sensors in array configurations.
- This technology offers a robust and precise approach for advanced tactile sensing applications.
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