SBIR Phase II: A High-Resolution Digital Fingertip

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to develop a high-resolution digital fingertip: a soft, easy-to-use, and compact sensor that will provide human-like tactile sensing. Such a sensor can be used to automate assembly tasks in next-generation factories, enable smart objects to understand their tactile environment, and equip scientists with a finger-like sensor for studying human touch. Industries have been transformed by the digitization of our auditory and visual worlds. A high-resolution digital fingertip will provide the mechanism for digitizing the tactile world, leading to applications and technological developments that will affect many industries. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop a soft, compact, and high-resolution tactile sensor based on elastomeric imaging technology. To achieve the desired form factor while maintaining a large sensing area, this project will develop novel optical and illumination configurations more compact than designs using conventional optics. These developments will demonstrate micro-scale imaging by a compact device and allow for modularity to expand the sensing area. This effort will lead to new insight into illumination design for shading-based 3D measurement, as well as optimizations to allow for real-time tactile information. The system will be coupled with a software development kit that provides real-time tactile information, including contact locations, force, and shape. The software development kit will make the system accessible to researchers and engineers from other disciplines, essential for broad adoption. The high-resolution digital fingertip, together with the software development kit, will enable new applications benefiting from tactile information. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.