Object Exploration using Whisker Sensors

This paper describes the progress of a project to locate, recognize and manipulate objects using information from whisker sensors. Object surface information is gathered by measuring the angle of deflection of a rigid whisker as it slides over the object surface. In order to successfully reconstruct the surface shape of an object, the whisker tip has to be in contact with the object. Ambiguous information is produced when the contact position is along the whisker length. We have developed a novel sensing algorithm that solves this problem. Using the algorithm it is possible to determine whether the contact position is at the whisker tip or along the whisker length simply by rotating the mobile robot on the spot. We present the design of the mobile robot and the whisker sensor together with some practical results. We also show how to estimate the contact position when the contact is along the whisker length. A single whisker sensor is mounted on a mobile robot to explore the objects it touches. Experimental results show that the whisker sensor is capable of gathering the surface shape information of an object, and the test algorithm can be used to confirm the contact as either at the tip or along the whisker length.