Force and Tactile Sensors

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of force and tactile sensing, withthe primary emphasis placed on tactile sensing. We begin by presentingsome basic considerations in choosing a tactile sensor and then reviewa wide variety of sensor types, including proximity, kinematic, force,dynamic, contact, skin deflection, thermal, and pressure sensors.We also review various transduction methods, appropriate for eachgeneral sensor type. We consider the information that these varioustypes of sensors provide in terms of whether they are most usefulfor manipulation, surface exploration or being responsive to contactsfrom external agents. Concerning the interpretation of tactile information,we describe the general problems and present two short illustrativeexamples. The first involves intrinsic tactile sensing, i.e., estimatingcontact locations and forces from force sensors. The second involvescontact pressure sensing, i.e., estimating surface normal and shearstress distributions from an array of sensors in an elastic skin.We conclude with a brief discussion of the challenges that remainto be solved in packaging and manufacturing damage-tolerant tactilesensors.