Structure and fundamental evaluation of magnetic type tactile sensor

Issue title: Selected Papers from the 15th International Symposium on Applied Electromagnetics and Mechanics (ISEM 2011)

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Nakamoto, Hiroyuki^{a; *} | Takenawa, Satoru^b | Kida, Yasuaki^c

Affiliations: [a] Kobe University, Kobe, Japan | [b] Kobe City College of Technology, Kobe, Japan | [c] BL AUTOTEC LTD, Kobe, Japan

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Hiroyuki Nakamoto, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe 657-8501, Japan. Tel.: +81 78 803 6669; Fax: +81 78 803 6669; E-mail: nakamoto@panda.kobe-u.ac.jp

Abstract: We propose a magnetic type tactile sensor that can measure a three-axis displacement and a three-axis force. The simple structure comprises two layers, an elastic layer and a substrate layer. The elastic layer is made of an elastic material and houses a cylindrical permanent magnet inside. The substrate layer is a glass epoxy board and has four giant magneto resistance (GMR) elements. The elements measure changes of magnetic field strength based on the displacement of the magnet, and the three-axis displacement and force are calculated from the outputs of the elements. Features of this sensor are a wiring reduction, simple structure, and low cost. In this paper, we describe a structure of the sensor. We design a sensor which has two magnets inside, and confirm the performances of a prototype through the laboratory experiments.

Keywords: Tactile sensor, electromagnetic, displacement, force measurement

DOI: 10.3233/JAE-2012-1573

Journal: International Journal of Applied Electromagnetics and Mechanics, vol. 39, no. 1-4, pp. 1021-1026, 2012