Miniature Fibre-Optic based Shape Sensing for Robotic Applications using Curved Reflectors

Abstract: continuum-robots, prosthetic devices and wearable body-shape sensors. A miniaturised one-degree-of-freedom joint-angle sensor is devised, using a single light emitting/receiving optical fibre with a coupler connected to a Keyence (FS-N11MN, Osaka, Japan) sensor that supplies and detects light through the optical fibres. A curvature-varying reflective surface integrated in the joint demonstrates non-contact light intensity-based sensing. Various reflector geometries and surface colours are designed to compare sensor output for achieving a large angle range and improved sensitivity for the proposed miniaturised robotic shape-sensing applications.