US 7,591,166 B2
Tactile sensor and use thereof
Jun Ueda, Ikoma (Japan); Yutaka Ishida, Nara (Japan); and Tsukasa Ogasawara, Kyoto (Japan)
Assigned to National University Corporation Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Nara (Japan)
Appl. No. 11/662,657
PCT Filed Jun. 16, 2005, PCT No. PCT/JP2005/011075
§ 371(c)(1), (2), (4) Date Nov. 21, 2007,
PCT Pub. No. WO2006/030570, PCT Pub. Date Mar. 23, 2006.
Claims priority of application No. 2004-267382 (JP), filed on Sep. 14, 2004.
Prior Publication US 2008/0202202 A1, Aug. 28, 2008
Int. Cl. G01N 3/56 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 73—9 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A tactile sensor comprising:
sensing means having an elastic member at a portion which contacts a measurement target;
image acquiring means which acquires as image information a state of the contact surface of (a) the measurement target and (b) the elastic member, before and after application of an external force tangential to the contact surface;
deformation analyzing means which analyzes deformation information of the contact surface, based on the image information acquired by the image acquiring means; and
estimating means which estimates a slippage margin between the measurement target and the elastic member, based on (I) the deformation information of the contact surface, which information acquired by the deformation analyzing means, (II) the external force applied tangential to the contact surface, and (III) an object constant of the elastic member.