Optical tactile sensor using scattering inside sol–gel-derived flexible macroporous monoliths

19 May 2022, Version 1
This content is a preprint and has not undergone peer review at the time of posting.

Abstract

Tactile sensors are an essential technology for robots, and various types have been developed. This paper reports on a new optical tactile sensor based on multiple scattering in a porous material with a viscoelastic phase-separated structure fabricated by a sol-gel method. When a macroporous silicone monolith with a few micrometer diameter skeletons was compressed, the diffuse light intensity near the light source was reduced due to Mie multiple scattering. A simple tactile sensor using a macroporous monolith and a photo reflector was fabricated based on this finding. The skeleton diameter was an important factor for the sensor. In the case of macroporous silicones, the voltage-strain curve showed an almost hysteresis-free clear response. However, the response of macroporous polymethylmethacrylate monolith with a smaller skeleton diameter was weak due to low Mie scattering intensity. Using cell structure materials with a scale much larger than the optical wavelength, a decrease in light intensity with compression was not observed. Sensors using sol-gel-derived flexible macroporous monoliths could provide features such as thinness and improved surface tactility.

Keywords

sol-gel
silicone
macroporous monoliths
Mie scattering
optical tactile sensor

Supplementary materials

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Supporting Information
Description
Movie list, schematic of the optical tactile sensor using Arduino Nano, and the sample code.
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