Using Capaciflectors for ORU Docking

Cheung, E.; Manzo, Michelle A.; McConnell, R.

doi:10.1109/irsse.1991.658936

Cited by 3 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…More advanced technologies have recently been proposed for harsh environment applications; these technologies include capacitive proximity sensors (the capaciflector) for contact prediction and embedded spring element sensors for force quantification [5,7]. The application of the capaciflector sensor was limited, especially in harsh environment robotic applications, due to inadequate levels of resolution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ceramic–polymer capacitive sensors for tactile/force awareness in harsh environment robotic applications

Weadon

Evans

Sabolsky

2013

Smart Mater. Struct.

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The need for force feedback and spatial awareness of contact in harsh environment applications, such as space servicing, has been unsatisfied due to the inability of current sensor technology to resist environmental effects. In this work, capacitive sensors based on a thick film 0:3 connectivity ceramic:polymer composite structure were evaluated for potential use in future operations within robotic end effectors, withstanding temperatures ranging from −80 • C to 120 • C and forces up to 350 kPa. A thick film design is utilized to allow for ease of embedding, allowing sensors to be implemented into exciting robotic hardware with minimal intrusion, and protecting sensors from electron bombardment, radiation, and point concentrations from metal-on-metal contact. Taguchi design of experiments allows composition variables including sensor thickness, ceramic composition, ceramic particle size, ceramic volume loading, polymer character, modifier character, and the polymer:modifier ratio to be evaluated simultaneously. Dynamic thermal and mechanical loading techniques were implemented to characterize the composite sensors with in situ electrical acquisition. Individual composition variables were linked to the sensor magnitude, sensitivity, drift, and hysteresis, showing that the sensor response is optimized with a thickness of single microns, 10 vol% loading of nano-particle ceramics, and high molecular weight polymers with a low content of simple architecture modifiers lacking glass or melting temperatures in the working range.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ceramic–polymer capacitive sensors for tactile/force awareness in harsh environment robotic applications

Weadon

Evans

Sabolsky

2013

Smart Mater. Struct.

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“…To overcome the limitations, more advanced technologies have recently been proposed for tactile/haptic feedback or pressure mapping of robotic end-effector [5,7].…”

Section: List Of Figuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The limitations with commercially available piezoresistive sensors are drift, hysteresis, high nonlinearity, and temperature stability, which require frequent calibration and the life cycle of the sensor is limited by operation and frequency of usage. To overcome the limitations and drawbacks of the piezoresistive sensors, capacitive sensing modality has been introduced [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. The mechanism of the capacitive sensor is the measure of change in capacitance (ΔC) as the change in distance (d) between two parallel plates (electrodes) with respect to applied pressure/force.…”

Section: List Of Figuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flexible Polymer-Ceramic Composite Materials for High Sensitive Pressure Sensing Applications in Harsh Environments

Idhaiam¹,

Sivaneri²

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Robotics aligned with completing physical activities in the space environments will require a new suit of solid-state sensors that are versatile and robust, and will provide precise information about contact events with various space assets. One of the vital sensing mechanisms is the "feelof-touch" or "tactile/haptic" feedback to the robotic system. Current robotics tactile/force sensor use mechanical switches for the feedback to determine whether the end-effector is in contact, which does not provide sufficient information regarding the local force and point-of-contact for the robotic end-effector. To tackle these challenges, the current work focusses on the development of flexible tactile sensor arrays that conform to the geometry of the end-effector and provide information about contact location, force magnitude, and force type. The sensor arrays were also composed of robust materials sufficient for the desired space application; the sensor system was designed to withstand the harsh environment, temperature fluctuations, and desired sensitivity. In this research, tactile sensor arrays were fabricated and tested, which were flexible, thick film, capacitive sensors that are composed of a 2:2 laminar polymer-ceramic composite. The composite was composed of four distinct layers, which consist of a polyimide support (Kapton film), patterned Pt electrodes, a compliant elastomer layer, and a ceramic dielectric layer (HfO2). Three different capacitive sensor architectures were developed to study the influence of the dielectric HfO2 layer on the sensitivity of the sensor. The baseline architecture was composed the compliant elastomer layer (Arathane 5753 A/B) sandwiched between the Pt electrodes. A bi-layer architecture was also fabricated with an additional HfO2 thin film deposited onto the elastomer in order to magnify the capacitive response of the sensor structure. In a tri-layer architecture, the HfO2 layer was sandwiched between elastomer layers to understand the influence of the additional elastomer layer on the sensitivity and pressure distribution across the sensor structure. These materials were tested over a wide temperature range from-60 to 120 o C. The fabricated sensor showed good sensitivity and cycle stability between 0 and 360 kPa. The influence of temperature variations on the capacitive and mechanical properties of the composites was also studied in detail. Thermomechanical loading cycles were performed with an in situ electrical acquisition to characterize the sensor. Chemical and structural characterization of the HfO2 layer deposited on the flexible substrate was evaluated by a combination of conductive atomic force microscopy (c-AFM), raman spectroscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and the optical properties were analyzed by ultraviolet visible spectrophotometer (UV-Vis). Embedding strategies were proposed and developed to shield the sensors against the direct exposure to cosmic rays, atomic oxygen, ultraviolet rays, and damages caused by direct contact with other objects in space...

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“…More advanced technologies have recently been proposed for on-orbit servicing including capacitive proximity sensors (the capaciflector) for contact prediction and embedded spring elements for force quantification within end effectors [6,8]. The capaciflector was not used for space applications, due to inadequate levels of resolution.…”

Section: List Of Figuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Embedded sensors in composite aerospace applications have been shown to introduce stress concentrations which weaken the structure [53]. Adding sensors to robotic gripper often requires remanufacturing the gripping assembly, or implementation of bulky sensor packages [8,54].…”

Section: List Of Figuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Force Sensor Array for Space Applications

Weadon¹

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Using Capaciflectors for ORU Docking

Cited by 3 publications

References 1 publication

Ceramic–polymer capacitive sensors for tactile/force awareness in harsh environment robotic applications

Ceramic–polymer capacitive sensors for tactile/force awareness in harsh environment robotic applications

Flexible Polymer-Ceramic Composite Materials for High Sensitive Pressure Sensing Applications in Harsh Environments

A Force Sensor Array for Space Applications

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