Slip detection and control using tactile and force sensors

In this paper, some results concerning the detection and control of the rel ative motion (slippage) of two bodies in contact are presented. The main mo tivation of this research can be found in advanced manipulation with roboti c systems, in which, depending on the particular task to be executed, it mi ght be desirable either to avoid or to exploit the slippage of the manipula ted object. The main contribution of this paper is that, besides the linear Coulomb friction effect, the rotational case is also addressed and, theref ore, both translational and rotational motions are taken into account. This result is achieved by using an integrated sensor constituted by a force/to rque and a tactile sensor. Experimental results are presented considering b oth the detection of the slippage and its subsequent control.