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Tactile Sensing Technologies

  • Chapter
Robotic Tactile Sensing

Abstract

This chapter presents the state-of the-art of robotic tactile sensing technologies and analyzes the present state of research in the area tactile sensing. Various tactile sensing technologies have been discussed under three categories: (1) transduction methods; (2) structures that generate a signal on touch; and (3) new materials that intrinsically convert mechanical stimulus on touch into usable signals. The tactile sensing technologies are explained along with their merits and demerits. The working principle of various methods have been explained and selected implementations are presented.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The actual expressions of V xout or V yout are:

    $$ V_{xout}=\frac{R_{x2}R_L}{R_{x1}R_L+R_{x2}R_L+R_{x1}R_{x2}} V_x \qquad V_{yout}=\frac{R_{y2}R_L}{R_{y1}R_L+R_{y2}R_L+R_{y1}R_{y2}} V_y $$
    (5.1)

    where, R L is the resistance seen from contact point toward the measurement terminal i.e. R touch +R y1 (or R y2) + Hi-Z. When impedance at the measuring terminal is high, these expressions in (5.1) reduce to (5.2)–(5.3).

  2. 2.

    Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is an imaging technique used to estimate the internal conductivity distribution of an electrically conductive body by using measurements made only at the boundary of the body. The technique is also used in non-invasive medical applications.

  3. 3.

    The measurement circuits used to measure the capacitance change are based on methods like, relaxation oscillator, Charge time versus voltage, Voltage divider, Charge transfer, and Sigma–Delta modulation etc. The capacitance changes are measured using parameters like shift of resonance frequency, frequency modulation, amplitude modulation, charge time measurement, time delay measurement, and duty cycle etc.

  4. 4.

    The charge carriers flowing through a conductive material, in presence of a magnetic field, experience a force orthogonal to their flow directions and the magnetic field direction. As a result the charge carriers are deflected, leading to the appearance of Hall potential in direction of the deflection. This is termed as Hall Effect. Due to this deflection, the charge carriers take a longer path to travel the length of the conductive material, meaning that the deflected particles have a lower mobility and hence an increased electrical resistance. This effect is known as magnetoresistance. Both the Hall effect and magnetoresistance can be used to measure magnetic field intensity.

  5. 5.

    Poling is the method of aligning or orienting the dipoles in a particular direction. Generally, poling is done by applying a strong electric field (sometimes in combination with mechanical processes such as stretching), whose direction also sets the direction of polarization.

  6. 6.

    The percolation theory model fails below the percolation threshold, where it predicts that the composite is an insulator. Effective medium theories have been developed that provide a good description of the evolution of the conductivity across the full range of filler concentrations. Discussion on such theories is beyond the scope of this book and reader may refer to relevant literature [87].

  7. 7.

    When a piece of weak polyelectrolyte gel is pressed, the pH of the gel changes reversibly. The pH change is associated with an enhanced ionization of the carboxyl groups under deformation. The compression in one direction expands the gel laterally and induces a one-dimensional dilatation of the polymer network in this direction. This brings about an increased chemical free energy (a decrease in entropy) of the polymer chain, which should be compensated for by a simultaneous increase in its degree of ionization.

  8. 8.

    The electro-optic effect is the change in refractive index of materials with external field.

  9. 9.

    Polymer-MEMS does not mean that the device is entirely made of polymers. In fact, heterogeneous integration of organic and inorganic materials is often necessary and desired. For example, it is often necessary to integrate signal conditioning and signal processing electronics directly with sensors. For large area sensor skin, the ability to integrate electronics and sensors is indispensable to reduce lead routing complexity.

  10. 10.

    There is an analogy between this structure and the human skin. The pyramid like microstructure can be viewed similar to the intermediate ridges present at the dermis–epidermis junction of human skin (Chap. 3). The ridge microstructures in skin are also known to improve the tactile sensitivity in humans [136–138].

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  1. Ravinder S. Dahiya

    Present address: Center for Materials and Microsystems, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Trento, Italy

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  1. Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Genova, Italy

    Ravinder S. Dahiya

  2. Department of Biophysical & Electronic Engineering, University of Genova, Genova, Italy

    Maurizio Valle

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Dahiya, R.S., Valle, M. (2013). Tactile Sensing Technologies. In: Robotic Tactile Sensing. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0579-1_5

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