Soft Tactile Parallel Plate Capacitance Sensors for

Robotic Grasping
Shalika Neelaveni, Kevin Turner
Abstract
Contrary to typical rigid robots, soft robots refer to a more compliant, flexible, and
human-like robotic mechanism. Intrinsic sensing in soft robots takes current solutions a step
further to create systems that can seamlessly sense, compute, and actuate the same way the
human body can. The aim of this study is to develop a tactile sensor that is easy to fabricate,
mechanically flexible, highly sensitive, and repeatable for future application in soft robotic
gripper systems. A soft parallel plate capacitor with a silicone foam dielectric (BISCO HT-800
Medium Cellular Foam) and copper tape electrodes was fabricated and compared to a sensor
with an Ecoflex dielectric. After adhering the copper tape to the top and bottom of the silicone
foam, soldering wires to the electrodes, and encapsulating the system in an elastomer, the sensor
was connected to an Arduino. The changes in capacitances were measured based on the varying
amounts of pressure and compared to the expected linear model based on fundamental
mechanical principles and statics equations. In this study, we found that the silicone foam
dielectric sensor demonstrated more sensitivity in comparison to the Ecoflex dielectric sensor,
confirming that a simple and highly sensitive soft parallel-plate capacitive sensor was developed.
This is promising for its integration in soft robotic grippers for applications in areas such as
robotic surgery and exploratory space robots.

Introduction
Contrary to typical rigid robots, soft robots refer to a more compliant, flexible, and
human-like robotic mechanism.5 Rigid robotic grippers rely on stiff structures based on joints
and links, extensive sensing to compute physical information of the gripping system and the
interacting object, and actuation mechanisms to execute movement based on estimated
instantaneous positions and velocities. Soft robotic solutions have improved grasping capabilities
by allowing systems to handle increasingly fragile or deformable objects. With much inspiration
from biological systems, the integration of soft materials ensures a greater level of interaction
with other objects to optimize contact area without damaging the object.8
Integrated sensing in soft robots takes current solutions a step further to create systems
that can seamlessly sense, compute, and actuate the same way the human body can. Rigid robots
tend to struggle to fully grasp objects without dropping or slipping out when underactuation
occurs, while overactuation can damage or break the grasped object. By not only integrating soft
materials, but also soft sensors, systems can constantly be inputting and outputting data to
prevent underactuation/overactuation and grip an object with nearly the perfect amount of
pressure.5
 Through the growing interest and study of soft robotics and soft sensing, researchers are
realizing its increasingly diverse applications. With uses in robotic surgeries, prosthetic limbs,
drug delivery, soft exoskeletons for soldiers, and flexible space robots, soft robotic systems with
tactile sensing and slip detection have become vital components to impactful innovations of the
future.6 In order to accomplish sensing that defines localized interactions such as pressure
sensing and slip detection, capacitive-based sensors have been a popular solution due to their
ease of fabrication. When a force is applied to a capacitive sensor, the subsequent change in the
capacitance is detected and can be used to determine a relative change in pressure.
The aim of this study is to develop a sensor that is easy to fabricate, mechanically
flexible, highly sensitive, and has repeatable results. We compared a soft parallel plate capacitor
with a silicone foam dielectric and copper tape electrodes to a sensor with an Ecoflex dielectric
(similar to conventional sensors). Unlike conventional sensors, this silicone foam dielectric
sensor reveals low variability and high sensitivity for a sensor with an extremely simple
fabrication process, making it a strong candidate for application in soft robotic systems.

Background
Due to limited sensitivity in current sensing pressure sensor solutions, Shen et al. created
a soft skin integrating ionic hydrogels and conductive fabrics for ultra capacitive sensing (Figure
2)7. With metal-plated conductive fabrics as the electrodes and ionic-hydrogels made of
Polyacrylamide (PAAm) and NaCl. When pressure is put on the sensor, the electron-ion pairs of
the ionic-hydrogel dielectric get attracted at the oppositely charged conductive fabric electrode
and creates a larger change in the dielectric thickness. Therefore, a higher change in capacitance
is found resulting in an increased pressure sensitivity, up to 1.5 kPa-1, which is almost 44x more
sensitive than typical parallel-plate capacitance sensors, and broad pressure ranges (35 Pa - 330
kPa).7
There have also been efforts in using vision to accomplish tactile sensing, such as
GelSight. It consists of a transparent elastomer covered with a reflective skin which is used to
observe surface texture of an object and shape change of an object when pressed onto the
reflective skin of the sensing system. With computer vision to monitor markers that are placed
around the reflective surface of the sensor, the shear forces, normal/torsional load, and incipient
slip are detected. However, mechanical-based sensors are significantly less computationally
expensive, and therefore are more appealing for this paper.9
Gerratt et al. developed a stretchable e-skin which includes a parallel plate capacitive
pressure sensor (Figure 3)1. Combining a porous silicone foam dielectric and stretchable gold
thin-film electrodes, sensitivity was increased. Specifically, open-cell foam elastomers have a
poisson’s ratio closer to 0 – the change in foam thickness is caused by air displacement rather
than polymer compression, which indicates a more favorable compressive property in
elastomeric foams, and thus sensitivity. Using the 880 micron thick silicone foam dielectric
(BISCO HT-800 Medium Cellular Foam) bonded to two 160 micron thick metallized PDMS
electrodes, pressure sensitivity was maintained at 0.001 kPa-1 with a compressive range between
5-405 kPa pressure.1

Method
Two types of sensors were developed: Ecoflex dielectric sensors and silicone foam
dielectric sensors.

A. Ecoflex Dielectric Sensor Fabrication

Copper tape was adhered to two glass slides and placed in the Fisher Scientific Plasma
Cleaner. The Plasma Cleaner door was then closed and the needle valve was tightened all the
way. The vacuum pump switch was turned on, which makes the pressure inside the Plasma
Cleaner visible on a digital monitor, and the Plasma Cleaner was switched on. The three-way
valve was then turned towards the Plasma Cleaner and the vacuum pump was turned on. After
the pressure reaches between 260-200 torr, the RF switch was turned to high (“HI”) for 5
minutes. When the time was up, the RF was switched back to “Off” and the Plasma Cleaner was
turned off. Then, the vacuum pump was switched off, the three-way valve was moved back to the
center, and the chamber was slowly vented to allow air back in using the needle valve. Once
atmospheric pressure was reached, the sample was removed from inside the Plasma Cleaner.
In a small container, Ecoflex was mixed thoroughly with a 1:1 ratio of Part A to Part B.
This was placed in the dessicator for 5 minutes. Using tweezers, the glass slides with copper tape
were placed on a hot plate with two shims on either side of the copper. The shims of 500 µm
thickness were used to create a 500 µm dielectric thickness. When the Ecoflex no longer had air
bubbles, it was removed from the dessicator and slowly poured onto one glass slide, over the
copper tape and between the two shims. The second glass slide with adhered copper tape was
placed on top and pushed down until the support of the shims was felt. A 10 kg mass was placed
on top of this system of glass slides and cured for 2 hours at 60 °C.
 When fully cured, the glass slides were removed from the copper tape on either side
using a flat blade. Breadboard connectors were soldered on both sides of the sensor (one wire
connected to each copper electrode). Then, two laser cut molds – each made of plexiglass with a
20 mm x 20 mm square hole in the center – were taped to both sides of the sensor, ensuring they
were aligned together. Ecoflex was mixed with the same ratio and method, and slowly poured
and cured on both sides on top of both copper electrodes, and once again sandwiched between
glass slides (sprayed with mold release to ensure easy removal). This system was again cured for
2 hours at 60 °C. When complete, the mold was removed and scissors were used to cut the 20
mm x 20 mm square sensor, encapsulated by Ecoflex, ensuring the soldered wires were intact.

Figure 4: (a) Copper tape on glass slide in Plasma Cleaner, (b) Ecoflex poured between shims, and (c) fabricated
sensor with soldered wires and Ecoflex encapsulation

B. Silicone Foam Dielectric Sensor Fabrication

The BISCO HT-800 Medium Cellular Silicone was obtained from Rogers Corporation.
Copper tape was adhered to both sides of the silicone foam and breadboard connectors were
soldered to both sides of the electrode. The laser cut molds were used again to encapsulate the
sensor with Ecoflex in the same way as the Ecoflex dielectric sensor. When fully cured, the
encapsulated sensor was cut to 20 mm x 20 mm.

Figure 5: (a) Schematic of Ecoflex dielectric sensor incorporating the Cu electrodes, Ecoflex dielectric, and
encapsulation. (b) Schematic of silicone foam dielectric sensor incorporating Cu electrodes, porous open-cell
silicone foam dielectric, and encapsulation.

C. Testing
An Arduino Uno was connected to the computer, while the sensor being tested was
connected to the Arduino Uno by the soldered breadboard connectors in ports A0 and A2. Code
was used to measure small capacitances.3 We then put various masses on the sensor and took 10
seconds of measurements (10 values) from the code for each mass (10g, 20g, 50g, 100g, 200g,
500g, 1kg). This was done for 3 Ecoflex dielectric sensors and 3 silicone foam dielectric sensors.

D. Modeling
Parallel plate capacitance sensors involve 3 main variables, the absolute permittivity of
the dielectric material (ɛ), the area of the parallel plates (𝐴), and the thickness of the dielectric
(𝑑). This produces the equation below where the absolute permittivity of the dielectric material
is equal to the permittivity of free space times the relative permittivity/permittivity of the
dielectric (Equation 2).

𝐴
𝐶= ε 𝑑
(1)
𝑝𝐹
ε = ε0ε𝑟 , ε0 = 8. 854 𝑚
(2)
Calculations for theoretical changes in capacitances can be made using Equation 3 below.
∆𝐶 = ε0ε𝑟𝐴 ( 1
𝑑
−
1
𝑑0 ) (3)
To establish a relationship between the pressure applied to the sensor and the resulting
capacitance, Equations 4, 5, and 6 demonstrate stress-strain equations used.
σ
Young’s Modulus 𝐸= ϵ
(4)

𝐹
Pressure/Stress σ𝑎𝑣𝑔 = 𝐴
= 𝑃 (5)

δ𝑑
Strain ϵ= 𝑑0
(6)
These stress-strain equations are applied to the capacitance equation below.
𝐴
𝐶 = ε0ε𝑟 𝑃𝑑0 (7)
𝑑0− 𝐸

For application purposes, decreasing the area of the parallel plates is optimal, while increasing
the permittivity of the dielectric and decreasing the thickness of the dielectric can maximize the
capacitance change and therefore the sensitivity (Equation 1). High permittivity dielectrics
include polymers, which tend to be a common material to use as a dielectric. Additionally,
1 1
because ∆𝐶 ∝ 𝑑
− 𝑑0
(Equation 3), there is a higher change in capacitance as the instantaneous
dielectric thickness decreases further beyond the initial dielectric thickness, and indicates a
higher level of compressive sensitivity.2 This works in tension as well and would be reflected as
a negative capacitance value. Equation 7 describes the instantaneous capacitance at a specific
pressure with a specific dielectric constant, and this was used to determine the model prediction
trends in the Results Section below.
Results

Figure 6: Ecoflex dielectric sensor - measured capacitance based on the pressure applied compared to the expected
capacitance of the Ecoflex dielectric sensors

After 3 Ecoflex dielectric sensors were fabricated, varying masses were placed on each of the
three sensors. Figure 6 shows 10 capacitance values based on the applied pressure from each of
the 3 Ecoflex dielectric sensors that were fabricated. The model prediction for the Ecoflex
dielectric sensors is the expected trend of the capacitances at each pressure value. The following
values were used to perform the calculation for the model prediction: E = 0.125 MPa, ɛ0 = 2.8, A
= 20mm x 20mm, d0 = 500 μm. The sensors in figure 6 exhibit high variability when compared to
the model prediction.
 Figure 7: Silicone foam dielectric sensor - measured capacitance based on the pressure applied compared to the
expected capacitance of the silicone foam dielectric sensors; 10 capacitance values per pressure per each of the 3
sensors

The 3 silicone foam dielectric sensors were fabricated and the varying masses were placed on
each of the sensors. Figure 7 shows 10 capacitance values based on the applied pressure from
each of the 3 silicone foam dielectric sensors that were fabricated. The model prediction for the
silicone foam dielectric sensors is the expected trend of the capacitances at each pressure value.
Equation 7 was again used to create the model prediction for the silicone foam dielectric sensors,
using the following values: E = 0.268 MPa, ɛ0 = 1.34, A = 20mm x 20mm, d0 = 790 μm. The
sensors in figure 7 exhibit low variability when compared to the model prediction.
Figure 8: Ecoflex dielectric & silicone foam dielectric sensors - measured average capacitance based on the pressure
applied, expected capacitance of the Ecoflex dielectric sensors, and expected capacitance of the silicone foam
dielectric sensors
Figure 8 shows the average from the 3 sensors of the 10 capacitance values based on the applied
pressure for both fabricated sensors. The model prediction was plotted again using Equation 7.

Table 1: Average change in capacitance for each change in pressure for Ecoflex and silicone foam sensors for each
change in pressure
Ecoflex 1 Ecoflex 2 Ecoflex 3 Silicone Silicone Silicone
Pressure (MPa) (pF) (pF) (pF) Foam 1 (pF) Foam 2 (pF) Foam 3 (pF)
0 - 0.24525 -0.049 0.201 0.243 0.279 0.134 0.0651
0.24525 - 0.4905 0.201 0.0408 0.0866 0.0656 0.0476 0.0324
0.4905 - 1.22625 2.13 0.133 0.572 0.0287 0.0878 0.127
1.22625 - 2.4525 0.102 0.0460 0.681 0.0498 0.157 0.187
2.4525 - 4.905 0.772 11.65 0.572 0.0579 0.289 0.273
4.905 - 12.2625 0.0385 0.455 1.28 0.297 0.291 0.378

Table 1 shows the difference between the capacitance between each pressure interval for each
sensor fabricated, which will help understand the sensitivity of each sensor type.

When measuring the sensitivity, the main analysis performed was done as follows: the linear
portion of the capacitance measurements was used to find the slope and the average change in
capacitance was divided by this slope to obtain the minimum change in pressure the sensor could
detect (Table 1).
 𝑑𝐶 𝑑𝐶
𝑑𝑃
= 𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒 → 𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒
= 𝑑𝑃
Using this method, the minimum pressure the Ecoflex dielectric sensor could detect was 3.62
kPa, and the minimum pressure the silicone foam dielectric sensor could detect was 2.32 kPa.

Discussion
A. Analysis
The results of this research indicates that two different types of sensors, the Ecoflex
dielectric and silicone foam dielectric, were fabricated. Based on Figure 6, significant variation
in the capacitance and the change in capacitance is found in the Ecoflex dielectric sensors. This
can likely be attributed to variability in the manufacturing process. Because the copper tape is
not a fully soft and compliant material, its surface does not sit evenly, and therefore can cause an
inconsistent thickness in the Ecoflex dielectric. Measurements indicate that there is a 270 μm
change in the thickness of the dielectric. This can contribute to the difference between the
capacitances of the 3 sensors and the expected capacitance (which is only accurate up to the
demonstrated 10-20% strain) of the Ecoflex dielectric sensor, demonstrated by the model
prediction. Finally the minimum pressure the Ecoflex dielectric sensor could detect was 3.62
kPa.
In contrast, the silicone foam dielectric sensor demonstrates a much more precise
capacitance and change in capacitance. Because we utilized a premade silicone foam in between
a flat top/bottom surface, this greatly reduced the ability to have an uneven dielectric thickness.
Therefore, the capacitance values are much closer to the expected capacitance (model
predictions) for the silicone foam dielectric sensors, when factoring possible external errors, such
as parasitic capacitances. We found that the minimum pressure the silicone foam dielectric
sensor could detect was 2.32 kPa.

B. Future Steps
In the future, there are several adjustments and
additions that need to be made. First, using a castable
silicone foam (Smooth-On Soma Foma-15) will help
produce an elastomeric foam dielectric of desired
thickness. The thinner the dielectric is, the more sensitive
the sensor will be. Furthermore, in order to eliminate errors
caused by the ductile copper tape electrode, incorporating
a conductive elastomer will allow the dielectric to form a
more even layer during fabrication, creating a fully soft,
flexible, and precise sensor. A multi-walled carbon
nanotube (MWCNT) and Ecoflex composite has shown a
high level of conductivity, while requiring a simple
fabrication process.4
 While decreasing the size of the sensor would decrease the resulting capacitance the
sensor would be able to measure, it would increase its applicability. The goal is to fabricate a
functioning sensor which is smaller than 3 mm x 3 mm. This step and each of the previous ones
would then help accomplish the last step: integrating the sensors in soft robotic grippers for
tactile sensing and slip detection.

C. Conclusion
Therefore, in this study, we fabricated Ecoflex dielectric/copper electrode sensors and silicone
foam dielectric/copper electrode sensors. We found that both sensors show a change in
capacitance as pressure is applied to the sensor. Additionally, the results demonstrated that the
Ecoflex dielectric sensors have a higher variability than the silicone foam dielectric sensors, but
the silicone foam dielectric sensors are in fact more sensitive than the Ecoflex dielectric sensor.
The work in this study is promising for embedding these soft sensors into soft robotic grippers to
advance efforts such as robotic surgery and flexible exploratory space robots.
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