ReadOut and Sensing Systems for Humanoid Robotics

Activity Abstract

Nowadays, sensors are an irreplaceable tool to acquire information on the external environment. In this context, Read-Out Circuits (ROCs) are necessary to transform the electrical characteristics of the sensor (capacitance, resistance, …), related to the physical quantity under-test (pressure, temperature, oxygen, pH, …), into electrical signals compliant with standard electronic systems. Our ROCs are all CMOS-based, compact and low-power and most of them are event-driven and modular.

Specifically, we deeply worked on pressure sensors (both capacitive and resistive), designing two ultra-low power all-digital systems, for robotic applications. We also worked on analog designs to conceive time-based converters, such as resistance-to-frequency, resistance-to-digital and impedance converters. They are designed with a quasi-digital output and included in the M4N chip, together with a BiCMOS-based temperature sensor for biological applications, which will be provided with a neuromorphic interface.

Published in:

• A. Damilano, H. M. A. Hayat, A. Bonanno, D. Demarchi, and M. Crepaldi, “A Flexible Low-Power 130 nm CMOS Read-Out Circuit With Tunable Sensitivity for Commercial Robotic Resistive Pressure Sensors,” IEEE Sensors J., vol. 15, no. 11, pp. 6650–6658, 2015
• M. Mousavi, S. Appendino, A. Battezzato, A. Bonanno, F. C. Chen, M. Crepaldi, D. Demarchi, A. Favetto, and F. Pescarmona, “A new method of measuring the stiffness of astronauts’ EVA gloves,” Acta Astronaut, vol. 97, pp. 130–137, Apr. 2014
• P. M. Ros, M. Crepaldi, A. Damilano, and D. Demarchi, “Integrated bio-inspired systems: An event-driven design framework,” presented at the 10th International Conference on Innovations in Information Technology (INNOVATIONS), 2014, pp. 48–53
• A. Damilano, M. Crepaldi, P. Motto Ros, and D. Demarchi, “A 130 nm Event-Driven Voltage and Temperature Insensitive Capacitive ROC,” presented at the Digital System Design (DSD), 2014 17th Euromicro Conference on, 2014, pp. 663–666
• P. Motto Ros, M. Crepaldi, A. Bonanno, and D. Demarchi, “Wireless Multi-channel Quasi-digital Tactile Sensing Glove-Based System.,” DSD, pp. 673–680, 2013
• S. Stassi, G. Canavese, V. Cauda, C. Fallauto, S. Corbellini, P. Motto, D. Demarchi, and C. F. Pirri, “Wearable and flexible pedobarographic insole for continuous pressure monitoring,” presented at the 2013 IEEE Sensors, 2013, pp. 1–4

Activity Keywords