Development of a miniaturized laser Doppler velocimeter for use as a slip sensor for robot hand control

Abstract

We developed a miniaturized laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV) for use as a slip sensor in the control of a robot hand. This sensor is only 1/10,000th of the volume of commercial LDVs, which enables the sensor to be attached to a robot hand. Our LDV is able to detect objects moving at velocities ranging from 10 µm/s to 20,000 µm/s. The output of this sensor is independent of the type of material measured; aluminum, cardboard, and rough-surfaced black plastic were all tested.