Fabricating a robotic component comprising 100s of distributed, connected sensors can be very difficult with current approaches. To address these challenges, we are developing a novel additive manufacturing technology to enable the integrated fabrication of robotic structural elements with distributed, interconnected sensors and actuators. The focus is on resistive and capacitive sensors and electromagnetic actuators, though others are anticipated. Anticipated applications beyond robotics include advanced prosthetics, wearable electronics, and defense electronics. This paper presents preliminary results for printing polymers and conductive material simultaneously to form small sensor arrays. Approaches to optimizing sensor performance are discussed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.