Autonomous Selection of Closing Posture of a Robotic Hand Through Embodied Soft Matter Capacitive Sensors

Abstract

Soft matter capacitive sensors are developed and integrated into the silicone skin of finger tips and palm of a robotic hand. Distributed sensing nodes are used for obtaining preliminary pre-touch information about the object that should be grasped. This includes conductive objects taking advantage of proximity sensing from changes in electric field and non-conductive objects taking advantage of pressure sensing from the deforming capacitive electrodes. We argue that this system can eventually address one important challenge in control of multi-DOF bionic hands, i.e., autonomously choosing the right closing pattern. Sensor fabrication, characterization, and integration into the hand are described. An algorithm for detection and activation of closing patterns is suggested, and results are discussed.