AiVibeForce/Torque Sensor
A force/torque sensor measures the forces and torques acting on it, commonly in all six axes, and is mounted at a robot's wrist so the robot can sense contact, control pressing force and perform tasks such as assembly, polishing and hand guiding.
Most six-axis sensors use strain gauges or capacitive elements on a deformable structure, and electronics convert the deformation into three forces and three torques. The robot controller reads these values at high rates and uses them for force control, where the robot regulates contact force rather than position, or for detecting events such as a part seating fully.
Applications include peg-in-hole and snap-fit assembly, sanding, polishing and deburring with constant pressure, product testing, lead-through programming and payload checking. Many collaborative robots estimate external forces from joint torque sensors or motor currents instead of, or as well as, a wrist sensor.
Key specifications include measurement range, overload capacity, resolution, noise and sampling rate. Readings change with tool mass and orientation, so gravity compensation and periodic zeroing are needed. A force/torque sensor used for process control is not automatically a safety device; safety-rated force limiting must be specified as such by the manufacturer.
Key points
- Measures forces and torques, commonly in six axes
- Enables force-controlled assembly, finishing and hand guiding
- Needs gravity compensation for the tool's mass
- Process sensing is not automatically safety-rated
Where AiVibe comes in
AiVibe designs and manufactures the AiAmbA AI Factory, whose edge devices and AI agents let people talk to robot controllers in plain language. Robotics perception is an AiAmbA use case, and robot safety functions follow ISO 10218 and never depend on the AI layer.