A combined tactile and proximity sensing employing a compound-eye camera

We propose an optical sensing device to obtain both tactile and proximity information at high spatial resolution, which is needed in grasping control of a robot hand. In the proposed device, tactile information is detected based on the technique known as a light conductive plate or a frustrated total inner reflection, which can acquire tactile image at high spatial resolution by using a camera. Proximity information is detected based on stereo matching of two images obtained through the transparent plate which is used for tactile detection. In order to miniaturize the device, a compound-eye camera, which is the smallest multi-camera composed of a single image sensor and a lens array, is introduced. A prototype device is the size of 50 mm (W), 60 mm (H), and 60 mm (D), and obtains three visible light and three infrared images. The performance of the prototype is evaluated through the experiment of pick-and-place task using a robot hand.