Robotic Hands May be More Dexterous with New Embedded Optical Sensors

Imagine a robotic hand that is dexterous enough to manipulate tiny objects. That's exactly what researchers are working toward with the help of optical sensors. Scientists have created a three-fingered soft robotic hand with multiple embedded fiber optic sensors that's farm more dexterous than normal robotic hands.

"If you want robots to work autonomously and to react safely to unexpected forces in everyday environments, you need robotic hands that have more sensors than is typical today," said Yong-Lae Park, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Human skin contains thousands of tactile sensory units only in the fingertip and a spider has hundreds of mechanoreceptors on each leg, but even a state-of-the-art humanoid such as NASA's Robonaut has only 42 sensors in its hand and wrist."

Adding conventional pressure or force sensors is problematic because wiring can be complicated, prone to breaking and susceptible to interference from electric motors and other electromagnetic devices. However, a single optical fiber can contain several sensors; all of the sensors in each of the fingers of the newly-created hand are connected with four fibers.

Industrial robots that work in a controlled environment where people don't venture are capable of extremely precise manipulation with only limited sensors. However, as robots begin to work with humans, increased attention to tactile and force sensing is essential.

In this case, the hand uses a highly stretchable and flexible optical sensor. This sensor could be incorporated into soft skins; this type of skin would not only be able to detect contact, but also measure force. This, in turn, could help pave the way for robots that can manipulate small, delicate objects more precisely and more safely.

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