In this paper, we propose a design method of wholebody tactile interface for elevating human-robot coordination. The proposed surface cover sensor as the tactile interface enables robots to detect accurate 3-D force vector applied on various parts of the body during physical interaction with

We propose a new sensor element for a tactile sensor skin which covers a large area such as a whole surface of a robot. The element acquires not only contact force but also contact area by using the nonlinear elasticity of skin materials. This paper provides the structure and theory of our tactile sensor element, and presents experimental results.

The tactile array sensor is a key component of the multi-sensory integration work at the General Robotics and Active Sensory Perception Laboratory (GRASP Lab) at the University of Pennsylvania. In our work, tactile sensors provide information about the nature of the contact between an actuated tool, such as a robotic gripper, and its physical domain. This information is used for feedback contro...

PURPOSE This study investigated the changes that might occur in passive tactile sensibility during a period of 3 months following Implant placement in a group of edentulous subjects treated with dental implants. The effect of changing the velocity of force application on passive tactile sensibility was also investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS Five edentulous subjects who had been treated (as ...

Tactile inspection is a task for detecting minute irregularities of several tens of micrometers and is one of the tasks performed by human senses. However, the detection of defects in tactile inspection has not been evaluated quantitatively. Therefore, this study aims to examine the factors that affect the detection of defects in tactile inspection by focusing on the haptic perception with acti...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (RMIS) holds great promise for improving the accuracy and dexterity of a surgeon and minimizing trauma to the patient. However, widespread clinical success with RMIS has been marginal. It is hypothesized that the lack of haptic (force and tactile) feedback presented to the surgeon is a limiting factor. This review explains the technica...

Although information in tactile afferent neurons represented by firing rates has been studied extensively over nearly a century, recent studies suggest that precise spike timing might be more important than firing rates. Here, we used information theory to compare the information content in the discharges of 92 tactile afferents distributed over the entire terminal segment of the fingertip when...

Adaptation of fingertip forces to friction at the grasping surface is necessary to prevent use of inadequate or excessive grip forces. In the current study we investigated the effect of blocking tactile information from the fingertips noninvasively on the adaptation and efficiency of grip forces to surface friction during precision grasp. Ten neurologically intact subjects grasped and lifted an...

Robots capable of assisting elderly people in their homes will become indispensable, since the world population is aging at an alarming rate. A crucial requirement for these robotic caregivers will be the ability to safely interact with humans, such as firmly grasping a human arm without applying excessive force. Minding this concern, we developed a reactive grasp that, using tactile sensors, m...

This paper describes a tactile sensing system based on a force/torque sensor for the feet of a pipe crawling robot. Such a sensing system is needed for better optimization of force and joint load distribution and a safer avoidance of the risk of foot slippage. While conventional tactile sensing devices typically provide information concerning the spatial distribution of normal pressures, the in...