# A Tangentially Sensitive Tactile Sensor Reveals the Stick‐Slip Mechanism and Enhances Robotic Tactile Sensing

## TL;DR

A new tactile sensor mimics human Pacinian corpuscles to detect stick-slip motion and improve robotic touch accuracy.

## Contribution

An artificial Pacinian corpuscle with radial-axial anisotropy achieves ultrahigh tangential sensitivity and spatiotemporal tactile sensing.

## Key findings

- The APC sensor detects stick-slip states with high precision using high-frequency components.
- The sensor system discriminates frictional patterns (static, sliding, rolling) with 100% active and 98.18% passive accuracy.
- The design offers insights into the tangential tactile sensing mechanisms of Pacinian corpuscles.

## Abstract

The mechanism of human tactile perception offers inspiration for developing a high‐performance artificial sensory system. Pacinian corpuscles (PCs) allowing high‐frequency tangential sensitivity that endows humans with the ability to perceive multidimensional tactile stimuli. However, replicating similar high‐frequency and tangential perception as that of PCs in artificial systems remains a significant challenge. Here, an artificial PC (APC) from ultralight aerogel with a multilayer‐stacked and anisotropic structure analogous to that of PC via a multi‐directional freeze‐drying method is reported. The APC sensor with radial‐axial anisotropy exhibits tangential sensitivity (1022 kPa−1), detects multidimensional tactile stimuli, and identifies stick‐slip states with high precision. By mimicking PC clusters, the APC sensor system achieves spatiotemporal sensing capabilities for discriminating frictional patterns (static, sliding, or rolling) and tracking slip. A robot equipped with the APC sensory system possesses enhanced tactile perception for diverse tactile events in active (100% accuracy) and passive (98.18% accuracy) interaction with humans. It is found that high‐frequency components are crucial for stick‐slip detection, providing insights into the underlying tangential tactile sensing mechanisms of PCs. The work exemplifies a bidirectional enhancement of understanding between technological innovation and biological mechanisms.

An ultralight, multilayer anisotropic tactile sensor—an artificial Pacinian corpuscle—exhibits ultrahigh tangential sensitivity (1022 kPa−1) and spatiotemporal sensing. It discriminates static, sliding, and rolling contacts, detects incipient stick–slip via high‑frequency signatures, and enhances robotic touch (100%/98.18% accuracy for active/passive interaction), offering insight into the tangential sensing mechanisms of Pacinian corpuscles.