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

## TL;DR

SimTac is a physics-based simulator that enables the design of tactile sensors inspired by biological structures, improving robotic interaction in real-world environments.

## Contribution

SimTac introduces a novel framework combining deformation modeling, light-field rendering, and neural prediction for biomorphic tactile sensor design.

## Key findings

- SimTac enables accurate simulation of tactile sensing across diverse geometries and materials.
- Prototypes inspired by biological structures were validated using SimTac for real-world tactile tasks.
- The framework supports tasks like object classification, slip detection, and contact safety assessment.

## 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 bioinspired design and practical realization, 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.