• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.594-599
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• 2006

In this paper an anthropomorphic robot hand called SKKU Hand IIl is presented, which has a miniaturized fingertip tactile sensor. The thumb is designed as one part of the palm and multiplies the mobility of the palm. The fingertip tactile sensor, based on polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and pressure variable resistor ink, is physically flexible enough to be deformed into any three-dimensional geometry. In order to detect incipient slip, a PVDF strip is arranged along the direction normal to the surface of the finger of the robot hand. Also, a thin flexible sensor to sense the static force as well as the contact location is fabricated into an arrayed type using pressure variable resistor ink. The driving circuits and the tactile sensing systems for the SKKU Hand II are embedded in the hand. Each driving circuit communicates with others using CAN protocol. SKKU Hand II is manufactured and its feasibility is validated through preliminary experiments.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.111-116
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• 2020

Flexible tactile sensors, which are primarily used as grippers in robots, are mainly used to handle highly elastic or highly flexible objects. That is, flexible grippers are used when an object cannot be sufficiently controlled by applying a specific output force or taking a specific grabbing action. This is because a flexible tactile sensor needs to measure the pressure applied directly to held objects while deforming according to the shape of the object to be handled. CNT-based sensors used to be made from a highly flexible polymer to give flexibility and it is known that the sensors are greatly affected by the contact resistance of the terminal that connects the sensor to an electrical circuit; therefore, this paper clarifies the contact resistance of MWCNTs-based flexible tactile sensors and terminals. The effects of main and plating materials for terminals are investigated and the combinations of main and plating materials that exhibit contact resistance are measured in a typical industrial environment.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.88-96
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• 2022

Objective: Purpose of this study was to compare muscle activity ratio of multifidus to erector spinalis according to various cueing including tactile stimulation to provide an effective strategy to provide verbal and tactile feedback during exercise to provoke multifidus muscle activation. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Participants of this study included 28 healthy adults. Muscle activities of the multifidus and erector spinalis were measured while the participants performed tasks according to the three different methods of verbal cueing and three different tactile stimulation. Surface EMG was used to measure the muscular activity of the muscles during all the tasks. Results: Tactile stimulation to abdomen and lumbar vertebrae showed no significant difference in the muscle activity ratio (p>0.05). However, muscle activity ratio of the multifidus in relation to the erector spinalis was increased when subjects were given verbal instructions to make lumbar curvature with little force and to make lumbar curvature while pulling navel (p<0.05). However, it was decreased when they were provided with verbal instruction to make lumbar curvature with strong force (p<0.05). Conclusions: According to the results, proper verbal instruction was an effective tool to increase the muscular activity of multifidus. This study aimed to find and provide the most appropriate verbal cueing while doing exercises to activate multifidus.

• JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2005

This paper presents fabrication process and experimental results of two different types of flexible MEMS biosensors based on polymer/metal multilayer processing techniques. One type of a biosensor is a microelectrode array (MEA) for nerve signal monitoring through implanting the MEA into a living body, and another is a tactile sensor capable of being mounted on an arbitrary-shaped surface. The microelectrode array was fabricated and its electrical characteristics have been examined through in vivo and in vitro experiment. For sensitive skin, flexible tactile sensor array was fabricated and its sensitivity has been analyzed. Mechanical flexibility of these biosensors has been achieved by using a polymer, and it is verified by implanting a MEA to an animal and mounting the tactile sensor on an arbitrary-shaped surface.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.18 no.7
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• pp.161-166
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• 2001

The prototype of a tactile sensor with $4\times 4$ taxels using PVDF was fabricated. The electrode patterns of the thin Cu tape are attached to the 28${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ thickness PVDF using conductive adhesive and covering the sensor using polyester film for insulation. The structure of the sensor is flexible and the fabrication procedure is easy relatively. Also the output characteristics of the sensor was nearly linear with 8% deviation. The signals of a contact pressure to the tactile sensor are sensed and processed through A/D converter, DSP system and personal computer. The reasonable performance for the detection of contact shape and force distribution was verified through the experiment.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.131-134
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• 2011

In this study, we propose an optimal design and new fabrication method for a slim tactile sensor. Slim tactile sensor can detect 3-axial forces and has suitable flexibility for intelligent robot fingers. To amplify the contact signal, a unique table-shaped structure was attempted. A new layer-by-layer fabrication process for polymer micromachining that can make a 3D structure by using a sacrificial layer was proposed. A table-shaped epoxy sensing plate with four legs was built on top of a flexible polymer substrate. The plate can convert an applied force to a concentrated stress. Normal and shear forces can be detected by combining responses from metal strain gauges embedded in the polymer substrate. The optimal positions of the strain gauges are determined using the strain distribution obtained from finite element analysis.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.831-838
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• 2009

This paper proposes an IR (infrared) LED (Light Emitting Diode)-based tactile fingertip sensor that can independently measure the normal and tangential force between the hand and an object. The proposed IR LED-based tactile sensor has several advantages over other technologies, including a low price, small size, and good sensitivity. The design of the first prototype is described and some experiments are conducted to show output characteristics of the proposed sensor. Furthemore, the effectiveness of the proposed sensor is demonstrated through anti-slip control in a multifunction myoelectric hand, called the KNU Hand, which includes several novel mechanisms for improved grasping capabilities. The experimental results show that slippage was avoided by simple force control using feedback on the normal and tangential force from the proposed sensor. Thus, grasping force control was achieved without any slippage or damage to the object.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.130-133
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• 2010

A flexible three-axial tactile sensor was fabricated on Kapton polyimide film using polymer micromachining technology. Nichrome (Ni:Cr = 8:2) strain gauges were positioned on an etched membrane to detect normal and shear loads. The optimal positions of strain gauges were determined through strain distribution from finite element analysis. The sensor was evaluated by applying normal and shear loads from 0 N to 0.8 N using an evaluation system. Sensitivity of the tactile sensor to normal and shear loads was about 206.6 mV/N and 70.1 mV/N, respectively. The sensor showed good linearity, and its determination coefficient ($R^2$) was about 0.982. The developed sensor can be applied in a curved or compliant surface that requires slip detection and flexibility, such as a robotic fingertip.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2015.07a
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• pp.1229-1230
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• 2015

Monitoring of mechanical properties of tissues as well as direction/quantities of forces is considered as an essential way for disease diagnosis and haptic feedback systems. There are extensively increasing interests for measuring normal/shear force and touch feelings, especially for surgery systems. Highly sensitive and flexible tactile sensor is needed in palpation for detecting cancer cyst as well as real time pressure monitoring in minimally invasive surgery (MIS). Importantly, MEMS technique with miniaturized fabrication technique is essential for the on-chip integration with biopsy and biomedical grasper. Here, we propose the flexible tactile sensor with high sensitivity based on piezoresistive effect. We analyzed the sensitivity according to the pressure and directions and showed the ability of discrimination of the different materials surfaces, illustrating the feasibility of the flexible tactile sensor for biomedical grasper by mimicking human skin.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Emotion and Sensibility Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.190-194
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• 2002

Human uses sight, tactile sense to evaluate Total Hand Value(FUUAI) of textile fabrics. Tactile sense is important factor which decided the Total Hand Value of a textile fabric. When human feels the FUUAI, physical and physiological phenomena are occurred in finger. We first found out physical variable that is happened in fingertip when human is feeling the FUUAI. Such physical variable means characteristic of action tactual motion of finger such as moving range, tactile time, moved distance, speed of finger and applied force by finger. We study the relationship between action tactual motion and the ability in which the human distinguishes the textile fabric. As a result, we could know the characteristics of the tactual motion of fingertip to get high distinguishable ability. The characteristics were different in men and women respectively. In the case of man, touched time and moving range influenced to distinguish, and moving range, and the moving speed of finger influenced, in woman's case.