TitleThimbleSense: An Individual-Digit Wearable Tactile Sensor for Experimental Grasp Studies
Publication TypeConference Paper
Year of Publication2014
Conference NameIEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation - ICRA 2014
Pagination2728 - 2735
AuthorsBattaglia, E, Grioli, G, Catalano, MG, Santello, M, Bicchi, A
PublisherIEEE
Conference Location Hong Kong, May 31 - June 7, 2014
KeywordsHaptics, Robotics
Abstract

Measuring contact forces applied by a hand to a grasped object is a necessary step to understand the mysteries that still hide in the unparalleled human grasping ability. Nevertheless, simultaneous collection of information about the position of contacts and about the magnitude and direction of forces is still an elusive task. In this paper we introduce a wearable device that addresses this problem, and can be used to measure generalized forces during grasping. By assembling two supports around a commercial 6-axis force/torque sensor we obtain a thimble that can be easily positioned on a fingertip. The device is used in conjunction with an active marker-based motion capture system to simultaneously obtain absolute position and orientation of the thimbles, without requiring any assumptions on the kinematics of the hand. Finally, using the contact centroid algorithm, introduced in [1], position of contact points during grasping are determined. This paper shows the design and implementation of the device, as well as some preliminary experimental validation.

URLhttp://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6907250
DOI10.1109/ICRA.2014.6907250
Refereed DesignationRefereed
AttachmentSize
PDF icon [PDF]2.83 MB