Whole-Body Haptic Interface in Human Symbiotic Robots

In this paper, we propose a whole-body haptic interface for human symbiotic robots. First, tactile and force information are specified to accurately detect physical interferences with humans, on the entire surface of human symbiotic robots. Next, a design method of whole-body surface cover sensors which enables robots to detect accurate force vectors applied on various surfaces of the body is described. The basic structure of the cover sensor utilizes a force-torque sensor and is surrounded with several touch sensors. The cover structure was implemented on a humanoid robot, WENDY. Finally, experiments were carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method as human-robot haptic interface. The results show high capabilities of locus tracking on the surface and arm motion-processing based on the detected tactile and force information, and indicate that the proposed design method for realizing whole-body haptic interface is capable of enhancing human-robot symbiosis.