Multiple-layer cross-field ultrasonic tactile sensor

Abstract

This paper presents an ultrasonic "cross-field" tactile sensor that is robust enough for use in industrial robotic applications. This sensor uses ultrasound to measure the thickness of an elastomer pad and a "cross-field" arrangement to eliminate the spurious coupling commonly found in systems that employ cross-point switching. A tactile sensor with 256 elements (arranged as a 16/spl times/16 array of 1/16"-square elements) was shown to linearly measure thickness of the elastomer pad across a range of 900 microns with a resolution of 6.8 microns. In addition, the sensor is shown to accurately measure surface normal information.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>