Multi-material additive manufacturing of robot components with integrated sensor arrays

Abstract

Fabricating a robotic component comprising 100s of distributed, connected sensors can be very difficult with current approaches. To address these challenges, we are developing a novel additive manufacturing technology to enable the integrated fabrication of robotic structural elements with distributed, interconnected sensors and actuators. The focus is on resistive and capacitive sensors and electromagnetic actuators, though others are anticipated. Anticipated applications beyond robotics include advanced prosthetics, wearable electronics, and defense electronics. This paper presents preliminary results for printing polymers and conductive material simultaneously to form small sensor arrays. Approaches to optimizing sensor performance are discussed.