RI: Small: High Resolution Tactile Sensing.

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

This project seeks to develop tactile sensing technology that emulates many qualities of human skin. The goal is a sensor that can determine the texture and shape of objects that it touches, as well as the forces distributed across the surface. The new sensor is made of a block of clear elastomer, with a compliance similar to that of the human fingertip, covered with a flexible reflective skin. A small light source and a camera are embedded in the device. When an object contacts the skin, the surface is distorted, leading to a change in the reflected light pattern. Machine vision techniques convert the patterns into estimates of the forces on the skin. The project is testing a number of optical and mechanical designs, and is developing the corresponding image analysis techniques, in order to characterize and optimize the performance. Because the sensor is compliant, it can be built into a human-like robotic finger, providing gripping surfaces that are mechanically stable as well as highly sensitive. The new technology may also be useful in medical applications such as minimally invasive surgery, where it is important for the surgeon to sense the mechanical properties of the tissues that are being explored.