Robotic manipulators physically interacting with their environment must be able to measure contact forces/torques. The standard approach to this end is attaching force/torque sensors directly at the end-effector (EE). This provides accurate measurements, but at a significant cost. Indirect measurement of the EE-loads by means of torque sensors at the actuated joint of a robot is an alternative, in particular for series-elastic actuators, but requires dedicated robot designs and significantly increases costs. In this paper, two alternative sensor concept for indirect measurement of EE-loads are presented. Both sensors are located at the robot base. The first sensor design involves three load cells on which the robot is mounted. The second concept consists of a steel plate with four spokes, at which it is suspended. At each spoke, strain gauges are attached to measure the local deformation, which is related to the load at the sensor plate (resembling the main principle of a force/torque sensor). Inferring the EE-load from the so determined base wrench necessitates a dynamic model of the robot, which accounts for the static as well as dynamic loads. A prototype implementation of both concepts is reported. Special attention is given to the model-based calibration, which is crucial for these indirect measurement concepts. Experimental results are shown when the novel sensors are employed for a tool changing task, which to some extend resembles the well-known peg-in-the-hole problem.
Reactive Balance Control for Legged Robots under Visco-Elastic Contacts