A self-healing tactile sensor using an optical waveguide

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel optical tactile sensor made from self-healing materials that detects force through changes in internal reflection, offering noise resistance and durability.

Contribution

It presents a new fabrication method for an optical waveguide tactile sensor using self-healing materials, demonstrating its force detection capabilities.

Findings

Sensor output decreases with applied load

Successful fabrication of the self-healing optical waveguide

Potential noise immunity advantages

Abstract

We propose an optical tactile sensor using self-healing materials. The proposed tactile sensor consists of a structure that includes a diode, a phototransistor, and an optical waveguide made from self-healing materials. This design offers the advantage of being less susceptible to electromagnetic noise compared to traditional tactile sensors based on electrical detection principles. The sensor estimates the applied force by detecting changes in the total internal reflection caused by deformation due to contact force. In this study, we first established a fabrication method for the optical waveguide-based tactile sensor using self-healing materials. Subsequently, we measured the sensor output when a static load was applied to the fabricated tactile sensor and evaluated its characteristics. The results confirmed that the sensor output decreases in response to the applied load.