Decoupling research on a flexible tactile sensor array with novel structure

Abstract

This paper presents a flexible tactile sensor, which uses a novel structure and effective decoupling method to detect multi-point three-dimensional touch force. Firstly, the structure characteristics of the sensor are introduced. According to the theories of force-sensitive conductive rubber, the relationship between the resistance and the force exerted on the sensor is analyzed. Furthermore the mathematical model of the sensor based on finite element method is conducted. The simulation result is consistent well with the theory result. Then a decoupling method based on the RBF neural network is proposed in order to obtain the force from the resistance. The research indicates that the flexible tactile sensor with the novel structure and the decoupling method can accurately detect the three-dimensional force.