Simple and Low-Cost Fabrication of Flexible Capacitive Tactile Sensors

We fabricated novel flexible capacitive tactile sensors that can detect both the direction and distribution of an applied force. The sensor consists of a conductive silicone rubber as a movable electrode and fixed electrodes formed on a poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) film with silver paste. The...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Japanese Journal of Applied Physics 2011-01, Vol.50 (1), p.016502-016502-5
Main Authors: Kasahara, Takashi, Mizushima, Masanori, Shinohara, Hidetoshi, Obata, Tsutomu, Futakuchi, Tomoaki, Shoji, Shuichi, Mizuno, Jun
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We fabricated novel flexible capacitive tactile sensors that can detect both the direction and distribution of an applied force. The sensor consists of a conductive silicone rubber as a movable electrode and fixed electrodes formed on a poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) film with silver paste. The dimensions of sensor head are $10.4 \times 10.4 \times 0.8$ mm 3 . We developed the tactile sensor using screen-printing techniques and atmospheric-pressure plasma pretreatments. We experimentally evaluated the tactile responses to the applied force. The sensor detected the input force-distribution with a force ranging up to 10 N. The flexible thin PET film substrate enables fitting to the tight space and curved surface, and this capacitive tactile sensor is applicable for low-cost controllers of cellular phones and personal computers.
ISSN:0021-4922
1347-4065
DOI:10.1143/JJAP.50.016502