Vision-taction integration for surface representation

A method called vision-taction exploration (VTE) for generating surface descriptions from range vision and tactile sensor data is described. The range vision systems available provide sparse 3D data about surfaces. These data are partially processed to provide primary surface features such as surface points and surface normals. With the use of tactile and force-torque sensors under position control, supplementary data are obtained and processed to generate surface features identical to those generated from the vision data. These two sets of data are integrated and processed at a higher level for surface representation and classification. The VTE process levels are described. The touch system has been implemented, and the resulting surface description is presented