High Dynamic Range 6-Axis Force Sensor Employing a Semiconductor-Metallic Foil Strain Gauge Combination

This letter proposes a force sensor that combines semiconductor strain gauges and metallic foil strain gauges to present force information of a higher dynamic range to robots. The strain gauges have different sensitivities, with semiconductor strain gauge sensitivity being approximately 90-fold than that of the metallic foil strain gauges. Using this difference in sensitivity, large forces and small forces are both detected through the two types of strain gauges and high dynamic range force detection is achieved by combining the output signals of these two. It was confirmed from the SN ratio test that the proposed sensor has a measurement range from 0.005 N to 1000 N, the maximum load. The dynamic range is 2x10(5), extending the dynamic range of the 6-axis force sensor with the highest range in previous studies two-fold.

Automated summary

This letter introduces a force sensor that combines semiconductor and metallic foil strain gauges to provide robots with force information over a higher dynamic range. The different sensitivities of the strain gauges allow for the detection of both large and small forces, leading to a dynamic range of 2x10(5), which is double the range of the previously studied 6-axis force sensor with the highest range.