A capacitive tri-axial tactile force sensor design

Summary form only given. A tri-axial tactile force sensor design is presented. The multiple electrode design allows the sensor to detect displacements of an electrode relative to a second set of electrodes. The primary role of this force sensor is for integration into the finger of an articulated hand such as the Stanford/JPL hand or the Utah/MIT hand. The sensor is fabricated on a Kapton substrate to allow for the required flexibility. Electrodes are patterned using microelectronic fabrication techniques providing both dimensional accuracy and the ability to fabricate very small sensor elements. Once the single sensor elements have been sufficiently tested, arrays of sensor elements can be integrated into a tactile finger design.