ESSENCE: Embedding Softness into Structure Enabling Distributed Tactile Sensing of High-order Curved Surfaces

本质：将柔软性嵌入结构中，实现高阶曲面的分布式触觉感知

• 批准号: EP/N020421/1
• 负责人: Hongbin Liu
• 金额: $ 12.81万
• 依托单位: King's College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2016 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FN020421%2F1
• 关键词: ESSENCE; Embedding; Softness; into; Structure

Tactile perception is essential for robotic systems to perform tasks efficiently involving physical interactions with the environments such as carrying out assembly tasks or manipulating objects in manufacturing, in particular in uncontrolled environments. Research has shown that the efficiency of human manipulation is largely based on the sophisticated tactile afferents distributed across the human skin. If the tactile sensory system of human skin is neurologically damaged, a person significantly loses the efficiency for manipulation. Human tactile perception is still far beyond that of tactile sensing technology hitherto. To narrow the gap, extensive research has been carried out to develop robot skin with distributed tactile sensing elements (tactels). The existing tactile array sensing methods commonly utilize piezoresistive or capacitive materials, strain gauges, conductive elastomer or liquid and fiber-optics. While tactile sensing technologies have dramatically advanced in regards to spatial resolution, sensitivity, sensor flexibility and stretch-ablity, one major unsolved problem is to provide distributed tactile sensing capability to complex structural surfaces, which are normally described use high-order polynomial geometric equations, such as quadratic ellipsoidal surfaces, especially with small radii.The existing flexible and stretchable tactile array sensors are fabricated in the form of a film, thus difficult to be attached to those high-order polynomial surfaces. Since those surfaces are commonly used in various engineering designs, this problem significantly reduces the applicability of existing tactile array sensing methods. This project proposes a novel method to solve this bottleneck by utilizing 3D printing technique to embed distributed sub-millimeter soft material channels within that structure. Forces applied to the structure surface will induce micro deformations of the soft material channels. Thus those soft material channels act as tactile afferent fibres within human tissue providing distributed tactile information on the structure. Through the project, we aim to develop the general principles of using the proposed method for accurate and robust tactile sensing. Compared to existing tactile array sensors, the proposed method provides the capability of placing the tactels on a structure with arbitrary surfaces according to bespoke designs; it requires simple fabrication processes and is easy to be applied to miniaturized structures; the proposed method is also cost effective for providing large number tactile sensing elements. The immediate project success will be assessed based on the achieved tactile sensing performance compared to the current state of the art commercial tactile array sensors, as well as the reliability and adaptiveness of the proposed method demonstrated in our exemplary application with SHADOW. The long-term success of the project will be measured by the takeup of the proposed sensing principles that we shall develop by both the academic communities and industries.

触觉感知对于机器人系统有效地执行涉及与环境的物理交互的任务是必不可少的，例如在制造中执行装配任务或操纵对象，特别是在不受控制的环境中。研究表明，人类操纵的效率在很大程度上取决于分布在人体皮肤上的复杂触觉传入。如果人皮肤的触觉感觉系统在神经上受损，则人显著地失去操纵的效率。迄今为止，人类的触觉感知仍然远远超出触觉传感技术。为了缩小差距，已经进行了广泛的研究，以开发具有分布式触觉传感元件（tactels）的机器人皮肤。现有的触觉阵列传感方法通常利用压阻或电容材料、应变仪、导电弹性体或液体以及光纤。虽然触觉感测技术在空间分辨率、灵敏度、传感器柔性和可拉伸性方面已经显著进步，但是一个主要未解决的问题是向复杂结构表面提供分布式触觉感测能力，复杂结构表面通常使用高阶多项式几何方程来描述，诸如二次椭圆形表面，现有的柔性可伸缩触觉阵列传感器都是以薄膜的形式制作的，因此很难贴附到那些高次多项式表面上。由于这些表面通常用于各种工程设计，这个问题显着降低了现有的触觉阵列传感方法的适用性。该项目提出了一种新的方法来解决这一瓶颈，利用3D打印技术在该结构中嵌入分布式亚毫米软材料通道。施加在结构表面的力将引起软材料通道的微变形。因此，这些软材料通道充当人体组织内的触觉传入纤维，提供关于结构的分布式触觉信息。通过该项目，我们的目标是开发使用所提出的方法进行准确和鲁棒的触觉传感的一般原则。与现有的触觉阵列传感器相比，所提出的方法提供了根据定制设计将触觉元件放置在具有任意表面的结构上的能力;它需要简单的制造工艺并且易于应用于小型化结构;所提出的方法对于提供大量触觉传感元件也是成本有效的。直接项目的成功将根据所实现的触觉传感性能进行评估相比，目前最先进的商业触觉阵列传感器，以及在我们的示例性应用程序与SHADOW所证明的方法的可靠性和适应性。该项目的长期成功将通过我们将由学术界和工业界开发的拟议传感原理的采用来衡量。

项目成果

Design of a soft, parallel end-effector applied to robot-guided ultrasound interventions

• DOI: 10.1109/iros.2017.8206219
• 发表时间: 2017-09
• 期刊: 2017 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS)
• 作者: L. Lindenroth;A. Soor;Jack Hutchinson;Amber Shafi;Junghwan Back;K. Rhode;Hongbin Liu

Creating a Soft Tactile Skin Employing Fluorescence Based Optical Sensing

• DOI: 10.1109/lra.2020.2976303
• 发表时间: 2020-04
• 期刊: IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters
• 影响因子: 5.2
• 作者: Federica De Chiara;Shuxin Wang;Hongbin Liu

Soft tactile sensing: retrieving force, torque and contact point information from deformable surfaces

软触觉传感：从可变形表面检索力、扭矩和接触点信息

• DOI: 10.1109/icra.2019.8794087
• 发表时间: 2019
• 作者: Ciotti S

Polymer-Based Optical Waveguide Triaxial Tactile Sensing for 3-Dimensional Curved Shell

• DOI: 10.1109/lra.2022.3146596
• 发表时间: 2022-04-01
• 期刊: IEEE ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION LETTERS
• 影响因子: 5.2
• 作者: Cao, Danqian;Hu, Jian;Liu, Hongbin
• 通讯作者: Liu, Hongbin

Optical-Waveguide Based Tactile Sensing for Surgical Instruments of Minimally Invasive Surgery.

• DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2021.773166
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Frontiers in robotics and AI
• 影响因子: 3.4
• 作者: Li Y;Hu J;Cao D;Wang S;Dasgupta P;Liu H
• 通讯作者: Liu H