Acoustic feedback is a critical indicator for assessing the contact condition between the tool and the workpiece when humans perform grinding tasks with rotary tools. In contrast, robotic grinding systems typically rely on force sensing, with acoustic information largely ignored. This reliance on force sensors is costly and difficult to adapt to different grinding tools, whereas audio sensors (microphones) are low-cost and can be mounted on any medium that conducts grinding sound. This paper introduces a low-cost Acoustic Feedback Robotic Grinding System (AFRG) that captures audio signals with a contact microphone, estimates grinding force from the audio in real time, and enables closed-loop force control of the grinding process. Compared with conventional force-sensing approaches, AFRG achieves a 4-fold improvement in consistency across different grinding disc conditions. AFRG relies solely on a low-cost microphone, which is approximately 200-fold cheaper than conventional force sensors, as the sensing modality, providing an easily deployable, cost-effective robotic grinding solution.

翻译：声学反馈是人类使用旋转工具进行磨削任务时评估工具与工件接触状态的关键指标。相比之下，机器人磨削系统通常依赖力传感，而声学信息在很大程度上被忽略。这种对力传感器的依赖成本高昂且难以适应不同的磨削工具，而音频传感器（麦克风）成本低廉，可安装在任何传导磨削声音的介质上。本文介绍了一种低成本声学反馈机器人磨削系统（AFRG），该系统通过接触式麦克风捕获音频信号，实时从音频中估计磨削力，并实现磨削过程的闭环力控制。与传统力传感方法相比，AFRG在不同磨盘条件下的加工一致性提高了4倍。AFRG仅依靠低成本麦克风作为传感方式（其成本约为传统力传感器的1/200），提供了一种易于部署、成本效益高的机器人磨削解决方案。