Title :
A finger shaped tactile sensor using an optical waveguide
Author :
Nakao, Naoki ; Kaneko, Makoto ; Suzuki, Natsuo ; Tanie, Kazuo
Author_Institution :
Tsukuba Field Eng. Dev. Center, NTT, Ibaraki, Japan
Abstract :
A finger-shaped tactile sensor consisting of a charge-coupled device (CCD) and a semispherical optical waveguide covered with an elastic sheet and connected to a light source is proposed. The principle of the sensor is based on producing the scattering light at the sensor-object contact. The contact location is recognized using a CCD to detect light. By a simple calculation of the equation derived from the sensor surface geometry, the sensor can also provide the surface normal of the touched object. Through experiments using a prototype sensor, the fundamental characteristics of the sensor are evaluated and the principle of the sensor is confirmed
Keywords :
CCD image sensors; light scattering; optical waveguides; tactile sensors; CCD image sensors; charge-coupled device; contact location; elastic sheet; finger shaped tactile sensor; optical waveguide; scattering light; sensor surface geometry; surface normal; Charge coupled devices; Fingers; Light sources; Optical devices; Optical scattering; Optical sensors; Optical surface waves; Optical waveguides; Sensor phenomena and characterization; Tactile sensors;
Conference_Titel :
Industrial Electronics Society, 1990. IECON '90., 16th Annual Conference of IEEE
Conference_Location :
Pacific Grove, CA
Print_ISBN :
0-87942-600-4
DOI :
10.1109/IECON.1990.149155
