TY - JOUR
T1 - Three-Axis Fiber-Optic Body Force Sensor for Flexible Manipulators
AU - Noh, Yohan
AU - Sareh, Sina
AU - Wurdemann, Helge
AU - Liu, Hongbin
AU - Back, Junghwan
AU - Housden, James
AU - Rhode, Kawal
AU - Althoefer, Kaspar
PY - 2016/3/15
Y1 - 2016/3/15
N2 - This paper proposes a force/torque sensor structure that can be easily integrated into a flexible manipulator structure. The sensor's ring-like structure with its hollow inner section provides ample space for auxiliary components, such as cables and tubes, to be passed through and, hence, is very suitable for integration with tendon-driven and fluid-actuated manipulators. The sensor structure can also accommodate the wiring for a distributed sensor system as well as for diagnostic instruments that may be incorporated in the manipulator. Employing a sensing approach based on optical fibers as done here allows for the creation of sensors that are free of electrical currents at the point of sensing and immune to magnetic fields. These sensors are inherently safe when used in the close vicinity of humans and their measuring performance is not impaired when they are operated in or nearby machines, such as magnetic resonance imaging scanners. This type of sensor concept is particularly suitable for inclusion in instruments and robotic tools for minimally invasive surgery. This paper summarizes the design, integration challenges, and calibration of the proposed optical three-axis force sensor. The experimental results confirm the effectiveness of our optical sensing approach and show that after calibrating its stiffness matrix, force and momentum components can be determined accurately.
AB - This paper proposes a force/torque sensor structure that can be easily integrated into a flexible manipulator structure. The sensor's ring-like structure with its hollow inner section provides ample space for auxiliary components, such as cables and tubes, to be passed through and, hence, is very suitable for integration with tendon-driven and fluid-actuated manipulators. The sensor structure can also accommodate the wiring for a distributed sensor system as well as for diagnostic instruments that may be incorporated in the manipulator. Employing a sensing approach based on optical fibers as done here allows for the creation of sensors that are free of electrical currents at the point of sensing and immune to magnetic fields. These sensors are inherently safe when used in the close vicinity of humans and their measuring performance is not impaired when they are operated in or nearby machines, such as magnetic resonance imaging scanners. This type of sensor concept is particularly suitable for inclusion in instruments and robotic tools for minimally invasive surgery. This paper summarizes the design, integration challenges, and calibration of the proposed optical three-axis force sensor. The experimental results confirm the effectiveness of our optical sensing approach and show that after calibrating its stiffness matrix, force and momentum components can be determined accurately.
KW - Force sensors
KW - light intensity modulation
KW - optoelectronic and photonic sensors
KW - surgical robotics
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84962197390&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/JSEN.2015.2488099
DO - 10.1109/JSEN.2015.2488099
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84962197390
SN - 1530-437X
VL - 16
SP - 1641
EP - 1651
JO - IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL
JF - IEEE SENSORS JOURNAL
IS - 6
M1 - 7297802
ER -