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The purpose of the paper is to present a novel cross-modal sensor whose tactile is computed by the visual information. The proposed sensor can measure the forces of robotic grasping.

The proposed cross-modal tactile sensor consists of a transparent elastomer with markers, a camera, an LED circuit board and supporting structures. The model and performance of the elastomer are analyzed. Then marker recognition method is proposed to determine the movements of the marker on the surface, and the force calculation algorithm is presented to compute the three-dimension force.

Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed tactile sensor can accurately measure robotic grasping forces.

The proposed cross-modal tactile sensor determines the robotic grasping forces by the images of markers. It can give more information of the force than traditional tactile sensors. Meanwhile, the proposed algorithms for forces calculation determine the superior results.

Describes the processes required for the selection of the correct force/torque sensor system for a robot end effector. Covers six axis force/torque sensors and methods for interfacing them to computers and the robot’s control system.

The continued evolution of computer technology requires us now more than ever to investigate and understand man‐machine interfaces. Physical interface peripherals such as touch‐screens and force feedback systems demand a comprehension of the tactile forces involved. To accomplish this, flexible, easy‐to‐install, minimally intrusive sensors are essential. Thanks to the development of such sensors, many doors have been opened for innovative haptic applications in a variety of fields including medicine, manufacturing, and entertainment.

To measure the force applied to the tissue, the traditional endoscopic graspers might be equipped with a kind of tactile force sensor.

This paper presents the design, analysis, microfabrication and testing of a piezoelectric and capacitive endoscopic tactile sensor with four teeth. This tactile sensor, which is tooth‐like for safe grasping, comprises a Polyvinylidene Fluoride, PVDF film for high sensitivity and is silicon‐based for micromachinability. Being a hybrid sensor, employing both capacitive and piezoelectric techniques, it is possible to measure both the static and dynamic loads. Another feature, to be considered in its design, is the ability to detect pulse. The proposed sensor can be integrated with the tip of any current commercial endoscopic grasper without changing its original design. It is shown that using an array of sensor units, the position of the applied load can still be determined.

The static response of the sensor is obtained by applying a static force on the tooth and measuring the change in capacitance between the bottom electrode of the PVDF film and the electrode deposited on the surface of the etched cavity. The dynamic response of the device is determined by applying a sinusoidal force on the tooth of the sensor and measuring the output voltage from the PVDF film. The experimental results are compared with both analytical and finite element results. The sensor exhibits high sensitivity and linearity.

Capaciyive and piezoelectic are used to obtain both dynamic,pulse, and static loads. The sensor micromachined so, it can be used in various endoscopic applications.

Various types of sensors such as tactile, proximity and visual, have been developed to give robots flexibility and adaptability. It is argued that for complex tasks the individual sensors need to be integrated into a total system. In this article a variety of sensors developed by the authors are presented as modules and a design approach for a total system is discussed.

Reviews the benefits and potential application of tactile sensors for use with robots.

Includes the most recent advances in both the design/manufacturing of various tactile sensors and their applications in different industries. Although these types of sensors have been adopted in a considerable number of areas, the applications such as, medical, agricultural/livestock and food, grippers/manipulators design, prosthetic, and environmental studies have gained more popularity and are presented in this paper.

Robots can perform very useful and repetitive tasks in controlled environments. However, when the robots are required to handle the unstructured and changing environments, there is a need for more elaborate means to improve their performance. In this scenario, tactile sensors can play a major role. In the unstructured environments, the robots must be able to grasp objects (or tissues, in the case of medical robots) and move objects from one location to another.

In this work, the emphasis was on the most interesting and fast developing areas of the tactile sensors applications, including, medical, agriculture and food, grippers and manipulators design, prosthetic, and environmental studies.

An extensive survey of over 300 reports worldwide shows that the state‐of‐the‐art in tactile sensing — defined as continuously variable touch sensing over an area where there is special resolution — is primitive. Only now is a new level of sophistication beginning to appear. However, for industrial systems the simplest may prove to be the most reliable.

Advancements in robotics have led to significant improvements in robot‐assisted minimally invasive surgery. This paper describes our design of an automated laparoscopic grasper with tri‐directional force measurement capability at the grasping jaws. The laparoscopic tool can measure normal, lateral, and longitudinal grasping forces while grasping soft tissue. Additionally, the tool can also be used to measure the tissue probing forces. Initial testing of the prototype has shown its ability to accurately characterize artificial tissue samples of varying stiffness and accurately measure the probing forces.

This paper describes the design, fabrication, testing, and mathematical modeling of a supported membrane type polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) tactile sensor. Using the designed membrane type sensor (MTS), it is shown that the entire surface of the PVDF film can be employed as a means of detecting the force magnitude and its application point. This is accomplished by utilizing only three sensing elements. Unlike the array type tactile sensors, in which the regions between the neighboring sensing elements are not active, all the surface points of the sensor are practically active in this MTS. A geometric mapping process is introduced, thereby, the loci of the isocharge contours for the three sensing elements are determined by applying force on various points of the sensor surface. In order to form a criterion for the comparison between the experimental findings and the theoretical analysis data, and also to determine the magnitude of the stresses generated in the membrane, finite element modeling is used. The correlation between the theoretical predictions and experimental findings is proven to be reasonable. Potentially, the designed MTS can be incorporated into various medical probes for tactile imaging.

This paper presents our development of a novel Internet‐based E‐manufacturing system to advance applications in micromanipulation and microassembly using an in situ polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) piezoelectric sensor. In this system, to allow close monitoring of magnitude and direction of microforces (adhesion, surface tension, friction, and assembly forces) acting on microdevices during assembly, the PVDF polymer films are used to fabricate the highly sensitive 1D and 2D sensors, which can detect the real‐time microforce and force rate information during assembly processes. This technology has been successfully used to perform a tele‐assembly of the surface MEMS structures with force/visual feedback via Internet between USA and Hong Kong. Ultimately, this E‐manufacture system will provide a critical and major step towards the development of automated micromanufacturing processes for batch assembly of microdevices.