A high sensitivity, low cost and fully decoupled multi-axis capacitive tactile force sensor for robotic surgical...

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Sensor Technology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Accurate force sensing is crucial for robotic surgery.
• Existing tactile sensors often lack multi-axis decoupling or high sensitivity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and characterize a multi-axis capacitive tactile force sensor.
• To achieve fully decoupled output for normal and shear forces.
• To evaluate sensor performance for robotic surgical applications.

Main Methods:

• A patterned elastomer dielectric layer was used between capacitive electrodes.
• The sensor was fabricated using low-cost rapid prototyping.
• Characterization involved applying normal forces (0-10 N) and shear forces (0-3.1 N).

Main Results:

• Achieved normal force sensitivity of 2.03%/N and shear force sensitivity of 1.67%/N.
• Demonstrated negligible force estimation error, indicating high accuracy.
• Reported hysteresis error below 5% and repeatability error less than 5% for both force types.

Conclusions:

• The developed tactile sensor exhibits high sensitivity, linearity, and reliability.
• Its performance metrics make it suitable for force feedback in robotic surgical systems.
• The low-cost fabrication method enhances its practical applicability.