Development of a six-axis force/tactile sensor for robot finger by employing spring beams

In this paper, a six-axis force/tactile sensor for a robot finger is described. The elastic sensitive part of the sensor consists of only a copper plate. A mathematical model of the sensor is proposed. By this model, the grasping force, moment and touching position of robot finger can be calculated. Furthermore, the performance of this sensor is examined. The experimental results present the input-output relationship of the sensor. In experiment, the robot fingers equipped with this kind of sensor can steadily grasp an egg as well as other light and fragile objects.