Tactile sensing in fine motion robot tasks

The authors consider the application of a tactile image sensor in robotic applications like assembly. Different types of tactile image sensors are discussed as well as a preprocessing system for reducing the data rate to the robot controller. This unit transforms the tactile data into features for the robot controller. The features that are of interest to the controller can all be determined from the object contour. Algorithms for contour scanning and detection of vertices are developed. An algorithm that matches the database objects with the measured vertices is given. A requirement for these algorithms is that they have to be implementable in hardware. An overview of the controller hardware and the use of tactile image data in combination with algorithms for force control and active compliance is given