Development of a Highly Flexible Lattice-Structure-Based Force Sensing Mechanism

Force sensing is increasingly demanded in modern industrial and information systems for executing intelligent operations. This paper presents a lattice-structure-based force sensing mechanism (LFSM) to meet the requirements of high-precision force measurements, and dynamic force tracking and control. Compared with traditional elastic sensing elements-and especially with bulk elements-LFSM exhibits an enhanced flexibility and maintains an improved dynamic response and a compact size. Particularly, the evenly low-stress distribution during force sensing enables the high linearity of LFSM in the elastic range. Based on the developed mechanism, comprehensive theoretical models of the sensitivity, natural frequency, and sensing range, were established and validated using finite element simulations. Five LFSMs were designed and fabricated with different construction orders, orientation angles, and thickness values. The high consistency in sensitivity tests with theoretical analyses confirms the effectiveness of the design and modeling methodologies. Experiments confirm that the developed LFSM can achieve high-performance in force sensing and exhibits a capability for dynamic force control. This paper also provides a new methodology with potential applicability to multiple degree-of-freedom force sensing in industrial systems.