We published a paper with the Santos Biomechatronics group at ASU on a flexible tactile sensor that uses microfluidic channels filled with a liquid metal. Robotic applications often require robust tactile sensing capabilities on curved surfaces, such as artificial fingertips. Flexible tactile sensors could be conformally wrapped around curved digits and could enhance grip by cushioning impacts and increasing the effective contact area during grasp. Flexible microfabricated devices that use thin film or solid electrical components are susceptible to failure due to cracking and fatigue. Conductive fluids have been used as transduction media, electrical connections, and bend sensors. In this work, a flexible and multilayer capacitive microfluidic normal force sensor is developed with a 5×5 taxel array. The sensor uses liquid metal-filled microfluidic channels as the capacitive plates and conductive interconnects. The sensor is microfabricated using soft lithography microfabrication techniques and consists of multiple layers of PDMS microchannels filled with the liquid metal alloy Galinstan and air pockets that modify the mechanical and electrical properties of the sensor. A single taxel is calibrated for normal forces ranging from 0-2.5 N and is shown to provide repeatable measurements of uniaxial loads. The sensor prototype has a spatial resolution on the order of 0.5 mm and performs reliably even when wrapped around a curved surface. The deformable liquid capacitive plates and heterogeneous PDMS-air dielectric medium can be designed to tune the sensor’s sensitivity and range. The sensor prototype provides greater sensitivity at low loads, a feature which can be exploited for robotic applications in which light touch is important.
