SimTac: A Physics-Based Simulator for Vision-Based Tactile Sensing with Biomorphic Structures

TL;DR

SimTac is a physics-based simulation framework that enables the design and validation of biomorphic vision-based tactile sensors, bridging biological inspiration with practical robotic applications.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive simulation platform combining deformation modeling, photorealistic rendering, and neural response prediction for biomorphic tactile sensors.

Findings

Successfully designed and validated bio-inspired tactile sensor prototypes

Demonstrated SimTac's effectiveness in object classification, slip detection, and contact safety tasks

Expanded the design space for tactile sensors integrating morphology and sensing

Abstract

Tactile sensing in biological organisms is deeply intertwined with morphological form, such as human fingers, cat paws, and elephant trunks, which enables rich and adaptive interactions through a variety of geometrically complex structures. In contrast, vision-based tactile sensors in robotics have been limited to simple planar geometries, with biomorphic designs remaining underexplored. To address this gap, we present SimTac, a physics-based simulation framework for the design and validation of biomorphic tactile sensors. SimTac consists of particle-based deformation modeling, light-field rendering for photorealistic tactile image generation, and a neural network for predicting mechanical responses, enabling accurate and efficient simulation across a wide range of geometries and materials. We demonstrate the versatility of SimTac by designing and validating physical sensor prototypes inspired by biological tactile structures and further demonstrate its effectiveness across multiple Sim2Real tactile tasks, including object classification, slip detection, and contact safety assessment. Our framework bridges the gap between bio-inspired design and practical realisation, expanding the design space of tactile sensors and paving the way for tactile sensing systems that integrate morphology and sensing to enable robust interaction in unstructured environments.