A six-dimensional traction force sensor used for human-robot collaboration

The force control of an industrial robot, as a significant control strategy, enables a robot to perform contact assignment or be guided by humans in free space. The existing six-dimensional force sensors installed at the end of manipulators own only one perceptual unit, which fail to detect the traction force given by one's hands accurately when the end effector contacts with the manipulated objects. In this study, a six-dimensional traction force sensor has been developed to measure the traction force, based on which a tandem type force sensor that can detect the traction force and contact force simultaneously is proposed. The tandem type force sensor consists of a general six-dimensional force sensor, which is used to measure the contact force between the end effector and the manipulated objects, and a six-dimensional traction force sensor, which is used to measure the traction force exerted by one's hand. The basic structure of the six-dimensional traction force sensor is designed, and the calibration experiment verifies the six-dimensional traction force sensor performs well.