Robot Tactile Sensing: Gold Nanocomposites As Highly Sensitive Real-Time Optical Pressure Sensors

In this article, we propose a new class of optical pressure sensors suitable for robot tactile sensing. These sensors are based on a tapered optical fiber (where optical signals travel) embedded onto a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)- gold nanocomposite material (GNM). By applying different pressure forces to the PDMS-based nanocomposite, we measure in real time the change of optical transmittivity due to the coupling between the GNM and tapered fiber region. The intensity reduction of the transmitted light intensity is correlated with the magnitude of the pressure force.