Pen-type Sensor for Surface Texture Perception

In this paper a hand-held sensor for surface texture perception is presented. The sensor with a metal contact probe is able to measure the roughness and frictional property of a surface, which are among the most important parameters for contact texture perception. Two strain gauges and a force sensor are employed to measure 3D-contact forces at the tip of the contact probe. The friction coefficient can be calculated by using the normal force and tangential one. A PVDF film is used for the dynamic sensing of contact stress in the axial direction of the contact probe. Measurement results are transmitted to a host computer via Bluetooth wireless communication link for further data processing. Design issues are discussed in details, and the preliminary experimental evaluations are performed.