Instrumenting a robotic finger to augment the capabilities of robotic grippers

• Published in: IEEE transactions on instrumentation and measurement Vol. 72; p. 1
• Main Authors: Romeo, Rocco A., Zocco, Agata, Parmiggiani, Alberto, Mura, Andrea, Gesino, Michele, Accame, Marco, Maggiali, Marco, Fiorio, Luca
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01-01-2023; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Bending moments; Cables; Center of pressure; Collaboration; Cooperation; Electronics; End effectors; Fingers; Force; Force measurement; force/torque sensor; Grasping; Grasping force; Grippers; Industrial applications; Industry 4.0; Inertial sensing devices; inertial sensor; Instrumented finger; Instruments; Robot arms; Robot sensing systems; robotic finger; robotic gripper; Robotics; Robots; Sensors; Service robots; tactile sensor
• ISSN: 0018-9456; 1557-9662
• DOI: 10.1109/TIM.2023.3256477

Robots are helping humans perform tasks, especially in industry. The collaboration between humans and machines is considered to be among the principal factors underlying the so called Industry 4.0 . To boost such a form of collaboration, robots could be provided with a higher degree of instrumentation, which undoubtedly resorts to a reliable sensorization. In this regard, the robot end-effector is central, being often the interaction organ of the robot. The present article aims at delivering a device, namely instrumented finger (IF), that can be mounted on robotic end-effectors such as grippers. The device is able to sense the grasping force and the associated bending moment thanks to an integrated load cell. It has also a tactile matrix through which the center of pressure can be determined, as well as the slip. Further, the device electronics includes an inertial sensor. Cables are protected by covers which hide the inner metallic body and the electronics. The device is compact, robust and precise, and constitute a promising solution for the instrumentation of robotic grippers. In the present article, the IF functionalities, such as measurement of force, torque, acceleration and center of pressure, will be demonstrated. Further, it will be shown the IF integration on a real industrial gripper mounted on a robotic arm, executing slip compensation experiments and mass estimation of grasped items.