Establishment of analysis model for soft distributed tactile sensor and display using acoustic waveguide

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K04009
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 20010:Mechanics and mechatronics-related
• Research Institution: Tokyo Institute of Technology
• Principal Investigator: Tabaru Marie 東京工業大学, 科学技術創成研究院, 准教授 (60721884)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 石河 睦生 桐蔭横浜大学, 医用工学部, 講師 (90451864)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 弾性管 / 音響特性 / 分布型 / フレキシブルセンサ / 圧力センサ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In the medical and nursing-care fields, there is an increasing demand for tactile sensor technology that has spatial resolution equal to or higher than that of fingers and is as soft as human skin. In this study, we investigated a soft tactile sensor that can detect the distribution of force by a simple configuration such as a speaker, a microphone, and a sound waveguide using elastic tube. In this research, the frequency characteristic, T(f), for the deformation at an arbitrary position was used as the acoustic model. Based on the model, the displacement and the attenuation characteristics, and the spatial resolution was investigated. In addition, the relationship between the vibration mode and phase due to bending, the displacement and attenuation characteristics with respect to the shape of the pipe were studied. Furthermore, we fabricated a piezoelectric vibrator that drives at high frequencies up to 1 MHz in the air, and conducted evaluation experiments.

Free Research Field

超音波工学、医療超音波

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本技術は、医療・介護用ロボットの触覚センサや曲げセンサ、介護用ベッドや椅子の押圧分布センサ、義手や義足と人体との接続部分の圧力分布を計測する技術、自動車や加工機械等の安全安心のための挟み検知センサとして応用が可能である。また、広帯域化や高出力化が可能な圧電音響デバイスを、独自に製作可能であることから、新規音響デバイス分野への展開が期待できる。