A Tactile Sensing Finger Tip for a Dextrous Hand

A tactile sensor was designed into the finger tips of a multifinger dextrous hand. The sensor features complete coverage of the cylindrical and hemispherical end portions of the finger. An 8X8 array is used based on standard capacitive sensing techniques. An analysis of appropriate sensor depth has been used to allow accurate localization of contacts, and reduced spatial aliasing. A comparison has been done between the cylindrical sensor and a simple two dimensional stress strain model. The effect of skin thickness and sensor depth on sensitivity are analyzed. Preliminary methods for deter-mining contact locatiot, total force, and tangential force with just normal deflection sensors have been implemented.