Electromechanical Conversion Mechanism of a Tactile Sensor Using Carbon Micro Coil Inside an Elastic Material

Carbon Micro Coil (CMC) tactile sensor, containing CMCs in elastic component, is considered to have LCR circuit. When the sensor is transformed by mechanical force, LCR circuit changes. In consequence, the sensor is considered to be able to detect various kind of tactile information by measuring impedance. In this paper, we focused on LCR circuit formed by distribution of CMCs. By changing CMC weight percent, we made the sensors that CMCs are in contact and not in contact. When the sensor is under unloaded condition, we measured the relationship between frequency of alternating voltage and impedance. As the result, we found that electrical parameters change with CMC weight percent. When the sensor is under transformed condition, we measured relationship between thrust displacement and impedance. As the result, we found that impedance changes by deformation of CMC and change in distance between CMCs.