DIY sensor to give the robot hands and feet that can feel
The lack of a versatile, accessible, and easily customizable tactile sensor has led to fragmented, sensor-specific solutions in general-purpose robotic manipulation
Researchers from the University of New York, working together in the E-flesh project, are bridging the gap between force-unaware and sensorless robot applications and aware grippers, hands and feet. The fun part is that you can easily make your own sensor: you need a hobby 3d printer, small off-the-shelf magnets and a magnetometer circuit board.
From the E-flesh website :
“The sensor is constructed from tiled, parameterized cut-cell microstructures, which allow for tuning both the sensor’s geometry and its mechanical response. To support broad accessibility, we provide an open-source design tool that converts simple convex OBJ/STL files into 3D-printable STLs ready for fabrication. This modular design framework enables users to create application-specific sensors for robot hands, grippers, quadruped feet, and more, and to easily adjust sensitivity to meet the demands of different tasks.
Our sensor characterization experiments demonstrate the precision of eFlesh: contact localization accuracy of 0.5 mm, with force prediction errors of 0.27 N along the z-axis and 0.12 N in the x/y-plane. We also present a learning-based slip detection model that generalizes to unseen objects with 95% accuracy, and visuotactile control policies that improve manipulation performance by 40% over vision-only baselines — achieving 90% success rate for a number of precise tasks like plug insertion and credit card swiping, that require sub-mm accuracy for successful completion. All design files, code, trained models, and the CAD-to-eFlesh STL conversion tool are openly available to promote accessibility and encourage widespread adoption.”
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