A soft tactile sensor able to detect both normal and tangential forces is fabricated with a simple method using conductive textile. Owing to the multi‐layered architecture, the capacitive‐based tactile sensor is highly sensitive (less than 10 mg and 8 μm, for minimal detectable weight and displacement, respectively) within a wide normal force range (potentially up to 27 N (400 kPa)) and natural touch‐like tangential force ranges (from about 0.5 N to 1.8 N). Being flexible, soft, and low cost, this sensor represents an original approach in the emulation of natural touch.
Octopus show great adhesion capabilities thanks to their suckers covering their ventral side of their arms. Starting from biological investigation, we identified preliminary specifications for the design of innovative artificial suction cups, which could be used in the field of soft robotics. The main features of the biological sucker are maintained as leading criteria for the choice of the actuation technology and mechanism. In this preliminary work, we focused on the imitation of the functionality of the specific muscle bundles which generate suction to obtain adhesion. Dielectric Elastomers Actuators (DEA) were identified as a suitable solution. A study on materials and manufacturing techniques was made. Different possible solutions in the use of DEA are also described
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