Design of a miniature 6-axis force/torque sensor for robotic applications

Abstract

A 6-axis force/torque (F/T) information is important to improve the performance of robotic applications. This paper presents a novel design of 6-axis F/T sensor that provides much simple configuration and easy fabrication/assembly processes. To use the space of the sensor efficiently, a new capacitance sensing cell is designed to detect a normal and a shear forces at the same time. The configuration of the sensor is developed, consisting of only three parts: a sensing printed circuit board, a deformable part, and a base part.