TACTILE SENSOR STUDY

THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DETERMINE THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING A GENERAL PURPOSE TACTILE SENSOR CAPABLE OF IDENTIFYING THE TEXTURE, COMPLIANCE, AND SURFACE FEATURES OF AN OBJECT. THE TACTILE SENSOR WILL CONSIST OF A PIEZOELECTRIC POLYMER MATERIAL WHICH GENERATES AN ELECTRICAL SIGNAL IN RESPONSE TO AN APPLIED FORCE. THE SENSOR WILL BE DESIGNED TO MOVE ACROSS THE OBJECT BEING EXAMINED, AND THE SIGNALS THUS GENERATED WILL BE ANALYZED AND ASSOCIATED WITH THE CORRESPONDING SURFACE FEATURES OF THE OBJECT. THEN, THROUGH THE USE OF APPROPRIATE PHYSICAL SEARCH ALGORITHMS AND PROCESSING OF TECHNIQUES, THE SENSOR'S CAPABILITIES WILL BE EXTENDED TO ALLOW IDENTIFICATION OF AN OBJECT'S EDGES, IT'S OVERALL SIZE AND SHAPE, AND THE TYPE OF MATERIAL IT IS COMPOSED OF.