An MR Compatible Tactile Sensor Array Probe Head

This paper presents a tactile sensing array that can be used in an electromagnetic environment. Fiber optics are used to transmit the light signals to and from the sensor. The proposed sensor has 14 sensing elements; each sensing element has its separate independent micro sensing structure which eliminates the problem of cross talk between adjacent sensing elements. Each sensing element converts the force into optical signals which are captured by camera attached to the receiving optical fiber. Image processing techniques are then used to extract the information about the force using MatLab. Each sensing element has the capability to measure the force in the range of 0 - 5N. Experimental result shows the sensor's capability in shape detection with no cross talk.