Anuradha Ranasinghe, a robotics researcher at Liverpool Hope University, discusses tactile sensing and feedback for robots with Robot Talk host Claire Asher.
Ranasinghe describes touch as sensing qualities such as pressure, force, and surface texture. She distinguishes sensors that collect tactile information from devices that reproduce sensations, such as vibration or force, for a remote operator.
Sensors and feedback devices must suit the conditions they will encounter, from disaster response and nuclear facilities to surgery. Ranasinghe says communication delays are another concern, since even a brief lag can cause errors in medical robotics. She is exploring smaller actuators that could fit into wearable items such as gloves or belts.
Ranasinghe describes adapting a GelSight-style sensor, which uses deformable silicone and a camera to capture surface interaction. Her team used UV markers that can be switched on for tactile imaging, leaving the view clear for image recognition when they are off. They also added temperature-sensitive pigments, demonstrating readings from 31 to 50 °C and a 443 millisecond response.
Smaller visual tactile sensors could support colonoscopy or minimally invasive surgery by capturing force, vibration, and details of internal tissue. Ranasinghe sees combining touch with vision and sound as a way to gather richer information, with smell and taste as possible future modalities.
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