Sequential tactile sensing technique using a mono-sensing device for discrimination of material properties

In this paper, a sequential tactile sensing technique using a mono-sensing device for the discrimination of two kinds of material properties, that is, thermal property and hardness is proposed. To demonstrate the sequential tactile sensing technique, the authors made a finger-shaped tactile sensor with a pressure-conductive rubber sheet, which is based on the sensing mechanism similar to human skin, and a one-direction moving equipment controlled by a personal computer automatically. In this experiment, four kinds of typical sample materials with flat surfaces, that is, aluminum, acrylic resin and two kinds rubber with different hardness were used. With the sequential use of this tactile sensor, the thermal property and hardness of these sample materials were successfully discriminated. As experimental results, the usefulness of the proposed sequential tactile sensing technique was confirmed.