A capstone project report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Engineering in Mechatronics Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology

This project is subjected in grasp experimentation based on identifying the normal force, shear force and the shear effect. A four by four tactile sensor array has been fabricated in order to acquire force data. For implementation of the sensor, a robotic arm has been developed. This will be controlled by a servo motor and a stud and nut mechanism. A conductive piezoresistive element has been used as the sensor element. Furthermore, electrodes have been place underneath of the polymer to measure the change of resistance due to applied load. Thereby, the force will be monitored, along with the shear effect. These electrodes have been fabricated on a printed circuit board. The gripper consists of two parallel fingers with one fixed finger. The gripping force has been provided with an electric motor while using a stud and nut system as a power transfer mechanism. Fingers are riding on two carbon fiber rods which are baring the forces while gripping occurs. This project has focused on acquiring normal force and shear effect. Normal force is the gripping force that will be acting on the objects which are grasped by the gripper. The shear effect is the effect of shear load on the sensor data. This can be monitored using a surface plot and can be identified. A special focus has been given for this section of monitoring the shear effect and its variations. In further improvements mathematical model will be implemented to find the shear force and its variations.

Capstone Project (B. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2014