Knot-inspired optical sensors for slip detection and friction measurement in dexterous robotic manipulation

Friction plays a critical role in dexterous robotic manipulation.However,realizing friction sensing remains a challenge due to the difficulty in designing sensing structures to decouple multi-axial forces.Inspired by the topological mechanics of knots,we construct optical fiber knot(OFN)sensors for slip detection and friction measurement.By introducing local-ized self-contacts along the fiber,the knot structure enables anisotropic responses to normal and frictional forces.By em-ploying OFNs and a change point detection algorithm,we demonstrate adaptive robotic grasping of slipping cups.We further develop a robotic finger that can measure tri-axial forces via a centrosymmetric architecture composed of five OFNs.Such a tactile finger allows a robotic hand to manipulate human tools dexterously.This work could provide a straightforward and cost-effective strategy for promoting adaptive grasping,dexterous manipulation,and human-robot in-teraction with tactile sensing.