Development of capacitive 6-axis force sensor

Abstract

We have succeeded in developing a capacitive 6-axis force sensor that can singly detect 3-axis force and 3-axis moment. The capacitive 6-axis force sensor has an advantage of being able to realize high accuracy at low cost compared with conventional sensors using strain gauges. This paper details the sensor structure, detection principle, and detection circuit, as well as the performance, such as sensitivity, cross-axis sensitivity, and linearity of the capacitive 6-axis force sensor. © 2009 The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan.