Journal
MATERIALS
Volume 11, Issue 11, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/ma11112305
Keywords
fiber Bragg gratings; polymer optical fiber; wearable devices; soft materials; additive layer manufacturing
Categories
Funding
- CAPES [88887.095626/2015-01]
- FAPES [72982608]
- CNPq [304192/2016-3, 310310/2015-6]
- FCT [SFRH/BPD/109458/2015, UID/EEA/50008/2013]
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We developed a flexible support with embedded polymer optical fiber (POF) sensors for the assessment of human-robot interaction forces. The supports were fabricated with a three-dimensional (3D) printer, where an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) rigid structure was used in the region of the support in which the exoskeleton was attached, whereas a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) flexible structure was printed in the region where the users placed their legs. In addition, fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs), inscribed in low-loss, cyclic, transparent, optical polymer (CYTOP) using the direct-write, plane-by-plane femtosecond laser inscription method, were embedded in the TPU structure. In this case, a 2-FBG array was embedded in two supports for human-robot interaction force assessment at two points on the users' legs. Both FBG sensors were characterized with respect to temperature and force; additionally, the creep response of the polymer, where temperature influences the force sensitivity, was analyzed. Following the characterization, a compensation method for the creep and temperature influence was derived, showing relative errors below 4.5%. Such errors were lower than the ones obtained with similar sensors in previously published works. The instrumented support was attached to an exoskeleton for knee rehabilitation exercises, where the human-robot interaction forces were measured in flexion and extension cycles.
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