Studies on thinned flexible integrated capacitive pressure sensors in tactile sensor arrays for the use in robotics and prosthetics

This paper examines the behavior of thinned and thereby flexible integrated silicon pressure sensors embedded in an array for tactile sensing in robotics and prosthetics. The aim of this sensor array is the detection of tactile sensations with high resolution. As a further requirement it should be possible to mount the sensor array onto an irregular surface, e.g. a prosthetic or robotic hand. For this the sensor array needs to be flexible which has an influence on the silicon components integrated in the tactile sensor. In this paper the effects of flexibilization and bending on the pressure sensor signals are studied.