Tactile Sensor without Wire and Sensing Element in the Tactile Region Based on EIT Method

We propose a novel soft areal tactile sensor made of pressure-sensitive conductive rubber, the principle of which is based on the inverse problem theory. The significant feature of this sensor is that it needs neither wire nor sensing element in the tactile region, because the distribution of applied pressure relating to the resistivity change in the tactile region can be estimated using electrical impedance tomography (EIT). This method enables us to make a very simple tactile sensor free from problems of wire breaks and electrodes peeling off from the rubber. The results of experiments with a have proved its effectiveness. We also discuss our computation technique to reconstruct stable pressure distribution by using the least squares method.