A Novel Bioinspired Neuromorphic Vision-based Tactile Sensor for Fast Tactile Perception

TL;DR

This paper introduces a bioinspired neuromorphic vision-based tactile sensor using an event-based camera and flexible skin, enabling rapid detection of contact and slip within 2 milliseconds for robotic grasping tasks.

Contribution

It presents a novel, fast, and cost-effective tactile sensor design that combines neuromorphic vision with flexible skin for improved robotic manipulation.

Findings

Detects pressing and slip incidents within 2 ms

Effective in classifying grasping objects in real-time

Suitable for high-speed industrial pick-and-place operations

Abstract

Tactile sensing represents a crucial technique that can enhance the performance of robotic manipulators in various tasks. This work presents a novel bioinspired neuromorphic vision-based tactile sensor that uses an event-based camera to quickly capture and convey information about the interactions between robotic manipulators and their environment. The camera in the sensor observes the deformation of a flexible skin manufactured from a cheap and accessible 3D printed material, whereas a 3D printed rigid casing houses the components of the sensor together. The sensor is tested in a grasping stage classification task involving several objects using a data-driven learning-based approach. The results show that the proposed approach enables the sensor to detect pressing and slip incidents within a speed of 2 ms. The fast tactile perception properties of the proposed sensor makes it an ideal candidate for safe grasping of different objects in industries that involve high-speed pick-and-place operations.