Design of Two-axis Force/Torque Sensor for Hip Joint Rehabilitation Robot

Abstract

We describe the design and fabrication of a two-axis force/torque sensor with parallel-plate beams (PPBs) and single beams for measuring force and torque in hip-joint rehabilitation exercise using a lower rehabilitation robot. The two-axis force/torque sensor is composed of an Fz force sensor and a Tz torque sensor, which detect z direction force and z direction torque, respectively. The two-axis force/torque sensor was designed using the FEM (Finite Element Method) and manufactured using strain gages. The characteristics experiment of the two-axis force/torque sensor was carried out. The test results show that the interference error of the two-axis force/torque sensor was less than 0.64% and the repeatability error and the non-linearity of the two-axis force/torque sensor were less than 0.03%. It is thought that the developed two-axis force/torque sensor could be used for a lower rehabilitation robot.