Overload Clutch with Integrated Torque Sensing and Decoupling Detection for Collision Tolerant Hybrid High-Speed Industrial Cobots

A hybrid high-speed industrial collaborative robot can switch between collaborative mode and high-speed mode, combining the advantages of both. While promising, this concept comes with some challenges such as dealing with collisions at high speed. An overload clutch with integrated torque sensing and clutch decoupling detection is presented as enabling technology. Both joint torque sensing and clutch decoupling detection are realized with the same capacitive measurement hardware that consists of paired electrodes. A prototype device is experimentally validated through compari- son with a reference torque sensor.