At CES, Electronic Design talked with Japan-based FingerVision CEO Yuji Nono about his company’s approach to tactile sensors. Inside the gripper lives an optical-based tactile sensor with signal-processing algorithms.
This sensor is composed of soft skin with an embedded marker array attached to rigid frame, and a web camera with a fisheye lens is housed inside. The processing unit can detect the array when it moves due to pressure, enabling the robot to adjust and maintain the shape of the object. The sensor tracks force distribution (the pressure on the array) as well as slip distribution (object movement detection).
FingerVision currently offers three formats, rather than a version specialized for a specific industry or task.
