Sensor Tendons for Soft Robot Shape Estimation
William R. Johnson, Anjali Agrawala, Xiaonan Huang, Joran Booth, Rebecca Kramer‐Bottiglio
Abstract
Tensegrity robots are deformable robots that require highly-stretchable and reliable sensors for proprioception and closed-loop control. We introduce capacitive sensor tendons made of liquid metal electrodes and dielectric silicone that are capable of high strains on the order of hundreds of percent that double as the tensile elements of tensegrity robots. The electromechanical response of the sensor tendons is characterized in ultimate strain, cyclic, and relaxation experiments to demonstrate the sensors' reliability in robotics applications.
Topics & Concepts
Capacitive sensingRobotTensegrityRoboticsComputer scienceTactile sensorMaterials scienceArtificial intelligenceMechanical engineeringEngineeringStructural engineeringOperating systemModular Robots and Swarm IntelligenceSoft Robotics and ApplicationsAdvanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials