Flexible Thermopile-Type Warmth Sensor

A new flexible warmth sensor is fabricated on the polyimide sheet, which can bend and install on the robot finger surface. The thin sheet also allows stacking two sensors for measuring temperatures at two points in the thickness direction. Essentially, the thermopile does not need power for sensing the temperature. For increasing the heat flow to the object having the room temperature, the sensor temperature is increased using the inside microheater. When the object contacts with the sensor, the thermopile signal changes reflecting the thermal conductivity of the touching object, and the object material can be seen.