An all digital VLSI tactile array sensor

This paper describes a new VLSI tactile array sensor that was designed for use on the fingers of a robot manipulator. The photolithographic methods used in fabricating the microelectronics were also used to build an array of mechanical structures on top of an integrated circuit. When covered with a suitable elastic material, the mechanical structures, notch-shaped windows in the protective overglass, convert applied pressure directly into a set of switch-like closures. The data obtained from these switch closures are multiplexed by logic in the circuit before transmission to a host, thereby reducing the wiring problem associated with discrete array sensors. A prototype with 48 cells arranged in a 6 by 8 array is currently being built.