A tactile reflex arc for physical human–robot interaction

Abstract

Conventional industrial robots lack the ability to work safely alongside humans due to their rigid components and absence of tactile sensation. To enhance the interaction capabilities of robots, this paper proposes a reflex arc that incorporates artificial robot skin. The proposed control strategy allows the robot to perform tasks while automatically and safely reacting to its environment, ensuring both safe and efficient operation. By utilizing tactile sensor skins, the external forces applied to the robot’s kinematic structure are estimated. Based on the robot’s kinematics, interaction joint torques are calculated using tactile force feedback, which generates reflex actions. These behaviors are modeled through a virtual mass–spring–damper (MSD) system applied to the robot’s joints. The proposed control strategy can be applied to any skin technology that provides a spatial distribution of force over the robot’s surface. Validation was conducted using a three-degree-of-freedom robot arm, demonstrating the method’s applicability to robot manipulators. A supplementary video demonstrating the proposed control strategy can be viewed at https://bit.ly/TactileReflex.