The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) has succeeded in developing a robotic finger that can precisely detect pressure from all 360 degrees. The development of an intelligent robotic hand technology that can adjust gripping force according to the rigidity of an object is expected to bring about a revolution in ultra-precision object recognition.

ETRI announced on the 1st that it has developed a new tactile sensor technology that can detect pressure with great precision regardless of the direction in which it is applied based on air pressure.

In addition, ETRI announced that it signed a mutual cooperation agreement with Wonik Robotics Co., Ltd. and jointly exhibited the related results at the 'Smart Factory & Automation Industry Exhibition (SFAW 2024)' held at COEX in Seoul for three days starting on the 27th.

The tactile sensor technology introduced by ETRI is a robotic finger with stiffness (modulus) and shape similar to a human finger.

It can flexibly handle everything from solid objects to deformable soft objects.

The research team explained that this technology overcame the technical limitation of the pressure sensor applied to existing 3D robot fingers showing distorted signals depending on the direction in which the object was grasped.

It is evaluated as having opened a new chapter in the intelligence of robot hand technology by being excellent in terms of performance and reliability.

The key to this technology is that it provides the ability to precisely detect pressure applied from multiple directions even in a three-dimensional finger shape, while also providing the flexibility to handle objects naturally like a human hand.

The research team explained that this robotic finger technology was advanced by combining air chamber-type flexible tactile sensor technology capable of detecting pressure in all directions, high-resolution signal processing circuit technology, and intelligent algorithm technology capable of grasping object stiffness information in real time.

The research team expects that with the development of this robotic finger with built-in omnidirectional tactile sensors, robots will be able to perform more complex and delicate tasks in various fields such as manufacturing and service.

ETRI uses tactile sensor technology It is expected that robots will be able to manipulate a variety of objects with greater precision and greatly improve their interactions with humans.

In addition to the sensor's precise pressure detection capabilities, the researchers developed the robotic finger to change LED color according to changes in pressure, providing intuitive feedback to the user.

Communication between robots and humans has also been enhanced by integrating vibration sensing and wireless communication capabilities.

In addition, the sensor developed by the research team is not directly exposed to the area where pressure is applied, so it can operate stably for a long time even with continuous contact like a robot hand, further improving the expandability of robot hand applications.

Existing tactile sensors have a relatively high probability of failure because the sensor is placed directly on the area where pressure is applied.

“This sensor technology will advance the interaction between robots and humans to the next level and lay the foundation for robots to be more deeply integrated into our society and industry,” said Kim Hye-jin, a senior researcher at ETRI’s Intelligent Components Sensor Lab.

In the future, the research team plans to develop the entire robotic hand beyond just a single finger joint to have a human-like sense of touch.

In addition, we plan to expand the development of extrasensory hands that surpass human sensory capabilities, including not only pressure but also temperature, humidity, light, and ultrasound.

Through business collaboration with Wonik Robotics, we have developed a robotic hand that can recognize objects with a tactile sensor and flexibly control force.

This research result is evaluated as an innovative technology that has taken the tactile function of robots to the next level, and the research team plans to continue various studies in the future to enable robots to handle objects and feel the world like human hands through sensors.

Last year, the research team developed an intelligent robot gripper technology that judges tomato size, freshness, and even texture, and was able to judge tactile information of 11 types of tomatoes with a 98.7% accuracy rate. We have succeeded in developing a technology that can distinguish between different types of objects with high accuracy.

This study was conducted as part of the ‘Development of flexible tensile hybrid sensor platform technology for free-form high-density convergence sensors’ by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology Evaluation and Planning (KEIT).