Durable and Repairable Soft Tactile Skin for Physical Human Robot Interaction

Abstract

To implement human-like tactile skin, its durability and maintenance are crucial issues in practical applications. In this paper, we introduce a durable and repairable soft tactile skin using highly deformable piezoresistive elastomer through the resistivity reconstruction method. Due to the particular electrode placement of the proposed method, the tactile sensor could ensure durability. Furthermore, the piezoresistive elastomer could be repaired from severe damage produced in the pressure sensing area of the tactile skin. This is possible since the sensing material is made of silicone elastomer which can be pasted to fill the pressure sensing damaged area. These characteristics can be used to implement practical soft tactile skin for robots.