RI: Small: High Resolution Tactile Sensing.

该项目旨在开发能够模仿人类皮肤许多特性的触觉传感技术。目标是一种传感器，可以确定它接触的物体的纹理和形状，以及整个表面分布的力。新的传感器是由一块透明的弹性体制成的，柔顺性类似于人类指尖，覆盖着一层灵活的反射皮肤。该设备中嵌入了一个小光源和一个摄像头。当物体接触皮肤时，表面会变形，导致反射光图案发生变化。机器视觉技术将图案转化为对皮肤作用力的估计。该项目正在测试一些光学和机械设计，并正在开发相应的图像分析技术，以表征和优化性能。由于传感器是兼容的，它可以被内置到一个类似人类的机器人手指中，提供机械稳定且高度敏感的抓取表面。这项新技术在微创手术等医疗应用中也可能有用，在这些应用中，外科医生感觉到正在探索的组织的机械特性是很重要的。

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.