Flexible 3D Force Tactile Sensor for Artificial Skin for Anthropomorphic Robotic Hand

A highly bendable mechanically flexible 3D force sensor for fast distributed tactile artificial skin is presented with high force resolution and range. The sensor shows clear selectivity for determining the three components of an applied force: Fx, Fy and Fz. A maximum variation of 30% to applied normal forces is achieved in a force range of 0.5 – 20 N with a linear sensitivity of up to 12% /N. The sensor shows a clear selectivity for applied shear forces in one direction in comparison to the other, and can hence be used to distinguish between the two different lateral components of an applied shear force.