TacTip wins soft robotics prize for Bristol Robotics Laboratory
A low cost robotic fingertip with an artificial sense of touch mimicking that of humans has won an international soft robotics competition.
The 3D-printed sensor, known as TacTip, was developed by the Tactile Robotics Team at Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL).
The device, which has been under development for more than seven years, consists of a webcam mounted inside a 3D-printed soft fingertip.
The webcam tracks the movement of pins inside the device, which act like the touch receptors in human fingertips, according to Dr Nathan Lepora, senior lecturer in Robotics at Bristol University and BRL, and leader of the Tactile Robotics Team.
“The tip is designed with an outer surface made of rubber, so it bends, and on the inside are a number of pins with white tips,” said Lepora. “As the material deforms, the pins move, and the camera picks up this movement, to act as a tactile sensor,” he said.
The movement of the pins can be used to provide information on the shape and position of an object, as well as its contact force, torque and shear.
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