This paper describes a technique for extending the force range of thin conductive polymer force sensors used for measuring contact force. These sensors are conventionally used for measuring force by changing electrical resistance when they are compressed. The new method involves measuring change in electrical resistance when the flexible sensor, which is sensitive to both compression and bendin...

In this work a low cost sensor has been developed to measure three-directional forces. The theory, design and sensor construction details are presented. It was constructed by using commercial strain gauges. Finite element method was adopted to optimize the structure dimensions, and improve the sensitivity of force sensor by distributing the sensing stress on the maximum strain positions. A hard...

The design, fabrication and testing of a 5 5 micromachined tactile sensor array for the detection of an extremely small force (micrometer-Newton range) has been discussed. An anisotropic etching of silicon substrate of a MUMPs process chip forms a central contacting pads that are trampoline-shape suspended structures and sensor beams. A piezoresistive layer of polysilicon embedded in sensor bea...

This paper presents the design and development of a low cost and reliable maximal voluntary bite force sensor which can be manufactured in-house by using an acrylic laser cutting machine. The sensor has been designed for ease of fabrication, assembly, calibration, and safe use. The sensor is capable of use within an hour of commencing production, allowing for rapid prototyping/modifications and...

Current commercial force-torque sensors are sensitive and accurate, but are also typically expensive and fragile. These features limit their use in cost-sensitive applications and unstructured environments such as people’s homes. This paper presents a new design for an inexpensive and robust force-torque sensor that uses MEMS barometer transducers. The new design results in a six-axis force-tor...

This paper reports the development of a new miniature force sensor designed to measure contact forces at the tip of a microsurgical instrument in three dimensions, and its application to scaled force feedback using a cooperatively manipulated microsurgical assistant robot. The principal features of the sensor are its small size of 12.5 mm in diameter and 15 mm in height, a novel configuration o...