3 accepted papers
We present an active acoustic sensor that turns soft pneumatic actuators into contact sensors. The whole surface of the actuator becomes a sensor, rendering the question of where best to place a contact sensor unnecessary. At the same time, the compliance of the soft actuator remains unaffected. A s…
We propose a novel sensing method for soft pneumatic actuators. The method uses a single microphone, embedded into the actuator's air chamber. Contact with the environment induces sound (vibration) in the actuator. The materials and the shape of the actuator reflect, refract, and attenuate the sound…
The compliance of soft actuators makes manipulation safer and simplifies control. But their high flexibility also makes sensorization challenging. From the large space of possible deformations not all are equally important. We present a method for sensorization of soft actuators that, for a given ap…