High-Resolution Tactile Sensor Using the Movement of a Reflected Image

Abstract

In recent years, many tactile sensors have been developed with the advancement in robotics. For example, there are sensors that mea-sure the contact state or force distribution. They are very useful, but the resolution of the measurement is still inferior as compared to that of a human. Thus, we propose a new type of optical tactile sensor that can detect surface deformation with high precision by using the principle of optical lever. We construct a tactile sensor that utilizes the resolution of a camera to the maximum by using transparent silicone rubber as a deformable mirror surface and tak-ing advantage of the reflection image