Three-Axis Force Measurement Using Capacitive Sensor for Object Detection
P. Anantha Christu Raj1, P. Ramesh Kumar2, Dayanand Peter3

1P. Anantha Christu Raj, Department of Instrumentation Engineering, Karunya Intitute of Technology & Sciences, Coimbatore, India.
2P. Ramesh Kumar, Department of Agriculture, Karunya Intitute of Technology & Sciences, Coimbatore, India.
3Dayanand Peter, Department of Food Processing Technology, Karunya Intitute of Technology & Sciences, Coimbatore, India..

Manuscript received on 02 June 2019 | Revised Manuscript received on 10 June 2019 | Manuscript published on 30 June 2019 | PP: 561-567 | Volume-8 Issue-8, June 2019 | Retrieval Number: H6713068819/19©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Abstract: There are varied uses of capacitive sensors in the measurement and control systems used in the modern era which include devices such as liquid-level gauges, pressure gauges, accelerometers and precision positioners. In the current work the investigators proposed a capacitive sensor that could detect applied contact forces both in the vertically and horizontally axis. The sensor is built on a flexible material. Metallic electrodes are fixed such that four separate variable capacitors are formed. One of the two sensors has rubber tubes stacked in a two dimensional array sandwiched between two rubber sheets as the dielectric while the other has a layer of foam sandwiched between two rubber sheets. The metallic electrodes used are copper plates. The outcome was a sensor that consisted of four variable capacitors. The signal conditioning circuit consists of CMOS 555 Timers which converts the capacitance to frequency. This frequency is then fed to a Data Acquisition Card (DAQ) which is connected to a PC. The frequency signals are then simulated and the output force is shown. This is done using LabVIEW software. The simulation using LabVIEW provides options for calibration and measurement.
Keyword: Capacitive Sensor, Force Sensor, Pressure Sensor, 3D Force Sensor, Calibration using LabVIEW.
Scope of the Article: Measurement & Performance Analysis.