Scanning control and estimation of unknown surfaces using a robotic finger with a resonant end-effector

We present simultaneous estimation of the shape and the mechanical impedance of unknown surfaces using a robotic finger with a resonant end-effector. To effectively estimate the mechanical impedance of unknown surfaces, the resonant mechanical part is located on the last digit, which has a force sensor on its fingertip. The force sensor, which is used as a surface detector to sense the reaction force from surfaces, has an important scanning control role of unknown surfaces. In this paper, the basic principle of estimating unknown surfaces is introduced for a one-degree-of-freedom finger that is extended to multi degrees of a freedom finger. In addition to estimation, scanning control is also proposed for unknown surfaces. Finally we verify the usefulness of our proposed system by experiments.