Processing of an embedded tactile matrix sensor

A fully embedded tactile/force sensor system to be installed on the phalanges of a robot hand is presented in this paper. The sensor consists of a distributed array of analog tactile elements and an integrated three-component force transducer with embedded analog and digital electronics. The tactile sensor is a matrix of electrodes etched on a flexible printed circuit board covered by pressure conductive rubber. The force sensor is an off-the-shelf integrated three components micro-joystick. Communications of the sensors with other control modules are implemented with a CAN bus link. A local processing technique is proposed to enable the transmission of both tactile and force data using a single CAN message. Simulative and experimental tests validate the proposed method.