High sampling resolution tactile sensor for object recognition

The authors discuss a tactile sensor system with high sampling resolution and its application for the active perception of 3-D objects which are larger than the tactile probe dimensions. The experimental tactile sensor is based on force sensitive transducer technology. An elastic overlay with protruding tabs provides a de facto spatial sampling which reduces tactile sensor distortions caused by deformations of the overlay during probing. Successive images from the tactile probe are integrated with the kinesthetic parameters of a robot arm, producing an extended image from which object edges are extracted and used for model-based object recognition