A Detachable FBG-Based Contact Force Sensor for Capturing Gripper-Vegetable Interactions

作者：Wenjie Lai, Jiajun Liu, Bing Rui Sim, Ming Rui Joel Tan, Chidanand Hegde, Shlomo Magdassi, Soo Jay Phee · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1109/icra57147.2024.10611433 · 被引用次数：4 · 研究领域：Tactile and Sensory Interactions、Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials、Interactive and Immersive Displays

Vertical farming, a sustainable key for urban agriculture, has garnered attention for its land use optimization and enhanced food production capabilities. The adoption of automation in vertical farming is a pivotal response to labor shortages, addressing the need for increased efficiency, particularly in labor-intensive tasks like harvesting. Although soft robotic grippers offer a significant promise for delicately handling fragile objects, the absence of sensors has hindered their full potential to execute precise and secure grasping. To address this challenge, we present a new solution: a detachable Fiber Bragg Grating-based flexible contact force sensor to capture gripper-vegetable interactions. The sensing module was 3D printed using soft material, and the FBG fiber was attached to the module using epoxy. From evaluation tests, this lightweight sensor demonstrated a wide measurement range of up to 9.87 N, with a high sensitivity of 141.7 pm/N, good repeatability, and a hysteresis of 7.96%. Compared to commercial load cells, our sensor achieves a small measurement RMSE of 0.41 N and a percentage error of 4.15%. The sensor was integrated into two robotic 3D-printed soft grippers to enable real-time monitoring of dynamic contact force during vegetable harvesting in vertical farming scenarios. By reflecting contact status, this sensor provides a promising glimpse into the future of agricultural automation, enhancing operational efficiency and strengthening situation awareness...