Verified user
Mar 2, 2023
Period
- 2021
Title
I used this sensor in a custom-built testbed for measuring wheel-soil interaction forces.
Pro
The sensor was easy to mount and use, and support from the team was excellent when I had software issues. It was easy to use the sensor with ROS, and the data quality was very good.
Con
The sensor takes 30-45 minutes to warm up to a steady temperature, and force measurements drift with temp, so you have to turn on the machine well in advance of data collection. The cable that came with our sensor was also fragile and needed to have strain relief added.
Giulio Cerruti
Caranx-Medical
Feb 22, 2023
Period
- 2022
Robot
LBR iiwa 14 R820 KUKA + BFT-MEDS-SER-M8 (Medusa 6-axis FT sensor with side serial interface)
Title
Application: autonomously guide an ultrasound probe connected at the end-effector of a robotic manipulator. In order to guarantee continuous ultrasound feedback I required to ensure contact between the ultrasound probe and the patient skin. At first I used the estimated force/torque feedback provided by the KUKA arm, but then I preferred to move to a FT sensor placed before the ultrasound probe so to have an accurate and configuration independent force/torque feedback. This also allowed us to implement a force closed loop for autonomous scanning that is independent from the robotic manipulator adopted.
Pro
The sensor is compact, light, has a wider range (and a higher noise free resolution) along the z axis and it's very accurate. All the filtering is already performed on the sensor side and the signal obtained is ready to be used in the user application. It is easy to setup and it's directly compatible with ROS.
I would add that customer service has been always very friendly, reactive and effective.
Con
Absence of documentation particularly for the firmware side. I needed to have a call with the developers to understand how to properly configure the sensor for my application (and it is still a little obscure to me). It would be really helpful to have more information. Similarly, FT calibration, gravity compensation are out of the box but requires some work to be properly put in place. Inertial compensation was missing at the time I integrated the sensor in the system. It would be a nice feature to add if still not present.