Tactile sensing device and method

Tactile Detection Device and Method

This technology is a device and method that uses a multi-array tactile sensor to scan the surface of a medium through tapping and rubbing motions, mapping multi-channel time-series signals with positional coordinates to classify the physical properties (hardness, roughness) of single or complex media.

Existing technologies are designed primarily to distinguish tactile sensations over fixed durations or to identify single media, which limits their ability to recognize tactile inputs occurring at arbitrary times or to perceive specific spatial information for objects composed of complex media.

This technology receives real-time n*m data from a multi-array tactile sensor, performs first and second actions—tapping (for hardness measurement) and rubbing (for roughness measurement)—and maps the acquired positional information and tactile signals to spatially distinguish and classify multiple media regions. Applicable to robotic grasping, precision measurement, and automated equipment, it improves the classification of tactile input signals by accounting for spatial information and categorizing the tactile properties of multiple media.

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Key Features:

• A tactile input receiver that scans the surface of a medium using a multi-array tactile sensor composed of n*m sensors (where n and m are arbitrary natural numbers) to receive the positional coordinates of the n*m sensors and their corresponding tactile input signals in real time.
• A tactile signal detector that determines a tactile input exists when the value of the tactile input signal exceeds a preset threshold and detects the specific location on the medium's surface where the input occurred.
• A tactile classifier that, upon determining the existence of a tactile input, categorizes and outputs the input based on pre-learned thresholds for each medium.
• A tactile detection device characterized by outputting the regions of each medium such that they are spatially distinguished.

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This invention was developed with support from Samsung Electronics for the development of cognitive tactile sensors.