BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Robot. AI
Sec. Soft Robotics
PVDF-Based Flexible Piezoelectric Tactile Sensor for Slip Estimation Using Robotic Gripper
Provisionally accepted
- 1Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- 2Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Arau, Malaysia
- 3Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah, Pekan, Malaysia
- 4Universiti Kuala Lumpur Malaysia France Institute, Bandar Baru Bangi, Malaysia
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Robotic grippers are widely utilized in industrial manufacturing, but object slippage during assembly poses challenges, including potential damage, delays, and increased costs. Therefore, early slip detection is crucial for efficient manufacturing operations. Piezoelectric tactile sensors using polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) have been developed to detect vibrations. Nevertheless, the development of such sensors with a simple structure and lower fabrication cost, continues to be a challenging task. The analysis on the effect of the thicknesses of soft body layers that attached to sensing elements on the slip sensor's performance has yet been discussed. In this project, a simple-structured and low-cost design of a flexible piezoelectric tactile sensor based on PVDF to estimate slip using robotic gripper is presented. The effect of different thicknesses of soft body layer made of silicone rubber and the sensor's performance in detecting slip is discussed. A PVDF-based sensor is attached to soft body layer that is incorporated into a robotic gripper. Experimental results demonstrate that sensor sensitivity increases with lower soft body layer thickness. Additionally, the sensor's signal amplitude increases with object load, indicating slip intensity. This advancement addresses challenges in fabricating simple structures and cost-effective piezoelectric sensors which enhance robotic gripper functionality in industrial applications.
Keywords: piezoelectric, tactile sensor, Slip estimation, Robotic gripper, Soft sensor
Received: 24 Aug 2025; Accepted: 27 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Rosle, Saffiai, Nasir and Saniman. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Muhammad Hisyam Rosle
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