This Repository contains:

1. Links to the previous works related to the sensors
2. Instructions for using the module along with the the microrobotics lab's 3 axix tactile sensors

This project uses the Arduino microcontroller to read capacitance data from the AD7746 chip. Please make sure that the Arduino IDE is installed and the microcontroller has the necessary rights.

For Windows and Mac users microcontrollers don't require any additional access. No additional packages are required for accessing the sensor data.

For Ubuntu users, the microcontrollers need additional USB access. Use the command below to grant them the USB access.

sudo chmod 666 /dev/ttyUSB0

Please make sure to give the correct USB address. To check the USB connected to the Arduino use the following command.

lsusb

Ubuntu users can use ROS module to publish sensor data on a ROS topic. TO use the ROS module additional packages are required. The essentials.sh script will install all the essential packages required for using ROS module. Follow the command below to run the script successfully.

sudo chmod +x /path/to/script/essenitals.sh
sudo /path/to/script/essentials.sh

Go to the Arduino IDE and upload the AD7746_clean_standalone.ino code on the controller. Run the code and the IDE will start publishing the sensor data on the serial monitor.

The tactile_ws is the catkin workspace for the ROS users. Go to the Arduino IDE and upload the AD7746_clean.ino code on the controller.

Either copy the shear_sensor package in your specific catkin_ws or use the tactile_ws itself. Catkin_make the package and source the devel folder. To publish the sensor data on the /capacitance_val topic follow the command below.

roslaunch shear_sensor shear.launch

The module should start publishing the unprocessed capacitance data on /chatter and the processed capacitance data on /capacitance_val.

@rishabhagarwal880