Home > Research > Publications & Outputs > Development, Experimental, and Numerical Charac...

Links

Text available via DOI:

View graph of relations

Development, Experimental, and Numerical Characterisation of Novel Flexible Strain Sensors for Soft Robotics Applications

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
  • Sylvester Ndidiamaka Nnadi
  • Ivor Ajadalu
  • Amir Rahmani
  • Aliyu Aliyu
  • Khaled Elgeneidy
  • Allahyar Montazeri
  • Behnaz Sohani
Close
Article number103
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>11/07/2024
<mark>Journal</mark>Robotics
Issue number7
Volume13
Publication StatusPublished
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

Medical and agricultural robots that interact with living tissue or pick fruit require tactile and flexible sensors to minimise or eliminate damage. Until recently, research has focused on the development of robots made of rigid materials, such as metal or plastic. Due to their complex configuration, poor spatial adaptability and low flexibility, rigid robots are not fully applicable in some special environments such as limb rehabilitation, fragile objects gripping, human–machine interaction, and locomotion. All these should be done in an accurate and safe manner for them to be useful. However, the design and manufacture of soft robot parts that interact with living tissue or fragile objects is not as straightforward. Given that hyper-elasticity and conductivity are involved, conventional (subtractive) manufacturing can result in wasted materials (which are expensive), incompatible parts due to different physical properties, and high costs. In this work, additive manufacturing (3D printing) is used to produce a conductive, composite flexible sensor. Its electrical response was tested based on various physical conditions. Finite element analysis (FEA) was used to characterise its deformation and stress behaviour for optimisation to achieve functionality and durability. Also, a nonlinear regression model was developed for the sensor’s performance.