Natural vibrissae fulfill a lot of functions. Next to object distance detection and object shape recognition, the surface texture can be determined. Inspired by the natural process of surface texture detection, the goal is to adapt it by technical concepts. Modeling the vibrissa as an Euler­Bernoulli bending beam and the vibrissa-surface contact with respect to Coulomb's Law of Friction, the first approach is formed by the group of Steigenberger and Behn. Due to the surface contact, the vibrissa gets deformed. Initiating a linear movement of the beam support in the way that the bearn tip gets pushed, first the beam tip is sticking to the surface. The acting friction force prevents a movement of the beam tip until the static friction coeflicient is reached. The displacement of the support corresponds to changes in the acting forces and moment. Out of these changes the coeflicient of static friction can be determined. Advancing the present model, the effects of an elastic support, a conical shape of the considered beam, a natural pre-curved (stress free) beam and an inclined contact plane on the resulting forces and moments are analyzed in an analytical way, and then discussed by numerical simulations in performing parameter studies. All these special features of the beam as a tactile sensor are successfully studied. The results for the conical beam shape are only of theoretical relevance. In a next step, a quasi-static model is compared to experimental data to verify the concept. The displacement is represented by a linear, stepwise change of the support of the sensor. By image processing the deformations of the beam for every support position are analyzed. This information is compared to the simulation. The concept in principal is confirmed by the experiments. / Tesis

Natural vibrissae fulfill a lot of functions. Next to object distance detection and object shape recognition, the surface texture can be determined. Inspired by the natural process of surface texture detection, the goal is to adapt it by technical concepts. Modeling the vibrissa as an Euler­Bernoulli bending beam and the vibrissa-surface contact with respect to Coulomb's Law of Friction, the first approach is formed by the group of Steigenberger and Behn. Due to the surface contact, the vibrissa gets deformed. Initiating a linear movement of the beam support in the way that the bearn tip gets pushed, first the beam tip is sticking to the surface. The acting friction force prevents a movement of the beam tip until the static friction coeflicient is reached. The displacement of the support corresponds to changes in the acting forces and moment. Out of these changes the coeflicient of static friction can be determined. Advancing the present model, the effects of an elastic support, a conical shape of the considered beam, a natural pre-curved (stress free) beam and an inclined contact plane on the resulting forces and moments are analyzed in an analytical way, and then discussed by numerical simulations in performing parameter studies. All these special features of the beam as a tactile sensor are successfully studied. The results for the conical beam shape are only of theoretical relevance. In a next step, a quasi-static model is compared to experimental data to verify the concept. The displacement is represented by a linear, stepwise change of the support of the sensor. By image processing the deformations of the beam for every support position are analyzed. This information is compared to the simulation. The concept in principal is confirmed by the experiments. / Tesis

The biological example of vibrissa-type sensors in the animal realm is attributed with impressive sensing capabilities. A recently discovered ability is the surface discrimination task. Preceding research on the topic elaborated certain hypotheses for the functionality of the sensor. The scientific work is predominantly based on an empirical approach closely related to the biological example. Complex and highly nonlinear mechanical interrelations and tribological aspects of the contact frequently remain unconsidered. In the interplay between the properties of the biological example and the desired technical realization of the sensor concept, the present thesis incrementally develops a complex mechanical model. Its purely numerical treatment is based on the finite element method framed in the software package ANSYS. Following three modeling stages, the nonlinear structural model is successively implemented firstly enhancing the contact formulation and secondly including dynamic effects in the computation. The attributes of the biological example like elastic support, pre-curvature and conicity are incorporated and their effects are related to the desired sensor function. Beside the characteristic of the sensor system, elaborated through parameter studies, special emphasis is placed on the determination of the working range and its limiting borderlines as well as the uncovering of problematic aspects of the concept. The complex picture of the static behavior of the sensor system is complemented by a first dynamic calculation in close proximity to an experiment, which is conducted in parallel. The juxtaposition of the outcomes are interpreted and a proposal for a measurement strategy is outlined. / Tesis

The biological example of vibrissa-type sensors in the animal realm is attributed with impressive sensing capabilities. A recently discovered ability is the surface discrimination task. Preceding research on the topic elaborated certain hypotheses for the functionality of the sensor. The scientific work is predominantly based on an empirical approach closely related to the biological example. Complex and highly nonlinear mechanical interrelations and tribological aspects of the contact frequently remain unconsidered. In the interplay between the properties of the biological example and the desired technical realization of the sensor concept, the present thesis incrementally develops a complex mechanical model. Its purely numerical treatment is based on the finite element method framed in the software package ANSYS. Following three modeling stages, the nonlinear structural model is successively implemented firstly enhancing the contact formulation and secondly including dynamic effects in the computation. The attributes of the biological example like elastic support, pre-curvature and conicity are incorporated and their effects are related to the desired sensor function. Beside the characteristic of the sensor system, elaborated through parameter studies, special emphasis is placed on the determination of the working range and its limiting borderlines as well as the uncovering of problematic aspects of the concept. The complex picture of the static behavior of the sensor system is complemented by a first dynamic calculation in close proximity to an experiment, which is conducted in parallel. The juxtaposition of the outcomes are interpreted and a proposal for a measurement strategy is outlined. / Tesis

The somatosensory system of mammals includes sensory hairs (vibrissae) for tactile perception during near field exploration. Interacting with the environment, the tactile hair transfers mechanical stimuli to the hair follicle (follicle-sinus complex). The follicle-sinus complex transduces the singnals and transmits them to the central nervous system. Rats, e.g., are able to characterize objects with regard to their surface and geometric shape. Inspired by the biological paragon, the implementation of a vibrissa-like tactile sensor is an object of engineering research. According to the sensory organ, the function of a technical vibrissa is based on the recording of stimuli by the artificial hair shaft and their measurement at the support. This enables the detection of technically relevant information. In this context, the present work focuses on the task of object contour reconstruction. For that purpose, the support reactions are determined during scanning of an object. Previous investigations have been restricted on scanning objects with convex contours. This is due to the limitation of mechanical models to single-point contact scenarios. Goal of the present work is the consideration of multiple contact points between sensor shaft and object contour. The sensor shaft is modelled as a Euler-Bernoulli beam. The mathematical/theoretical description of the deformation of the beam during quasi-static scanning results in a multipoint boundary value problem with switching point. In order to simulate scanning sweeps along two different object types, the corresponding multipoint boundary value problems are solved by applying a shooting method incooperating a Runge Kutta Method of 4th order. The support reactions are calculated during scanning. It shows that multi-point contacts can be identified in the support reactions. The simulation is validated by experiments using selected examples.