Integrated force/tactile sensing: The enabling technology for slipping detection and avoidance

This paper proposes an experimental study of slipping avoidance algorithms based on force/tactile perception data. The claim is that contact force measurements alone or tactile data alone are not sufficient for an effective slipping avoidance strategy in real world conditions. Integrated force/tactile sensors able to provide measurements of both the contact force vector and spatially distributed tactile maps are the key enabling technology for efficient slipping avoidance control algorithms that can actually work with real world objects under no restricting assumption on the contact geometry or with unknown physical properties of the objects. The paper proposes a new slipping avoidance control scheme, which usefully exploits an integrated force/tactile sensor mounted on the parallel gripper of a Kuka youBot. The results show how the strategy successfully allows the robot to safely manipulate real-world objects, both rigid and compliant, in various friction conditions of their surface, both stable and slippery.