Abstract:

For the reason that whisker sensors can only measure the displacement of whisker root alone, the mechanical model of the flexible whisker was stablished. The bendingsituation of the whisker was characterized by the magnitude of deflection angle,and an relation equation between deflection ngle and the contact position was deduced. The displacement of the whisker root was measured with the whisker sensors,and an experimental curve of the contact position was obtained. Comparison of the experimental curve with a theoretical curve indicated that the contact position between the robot isker and the measured object can be measured with the whisker sensors. The experimental data showed that the magnitude of deflection anglewas inversely proportional to the contact distance, and the smaller distance was more rapid magnitude as the deflection angle increases, based on which the localization information of a target object was obtained.

Key words: whisker; static measuring; mechanical model; deflection angle