Soft sensor for omnidirectional posture perception in humanoid dexterous hands

This study presents the development of a novel omnidirectional soft bending sensor tailored for humanoid dexterous hands to facilitate posture perception in delicate manipulation tasks. Drawing inspiration from the human hand's intricate design and proprioceptive capabilities, this study aims to enhance the dexterity of robotic hands, particularly in multi-degree-of-freedom (DoF) motion and posture perception. To this end, we designed a humanoid dexterous hand featuring 18 active DoFs, with five rigid-flexible structured fingers for improved joint mobility. Each finger is equipped with our innovative omnidirectional bending sensor, utilizing segmented polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) optical fibers, a trichromatic LED, and a chromatic detector to detect the pitch and yaw angles of the metacarpophalangeal joints. The sensor demonstrated excellent measurement performance, stability, and repeatability in challenging tasks such as using scissors, operating a computer mouse, and playing the piano. This technology addresses the challenges associated with multi-DoF motion and omnidirectional posture perception in robotic hands, thereby enhancing their capabilities in delicate manipulation tasks and paving the way for further advancements in humanoid dexterous hand development.