SynTouch produces a single phalanx human-like touch sensor

SynTouch LLC, developer and manufacturer of the only sensor technology in the world that endows robots with the ability to replicate — and sometimes exceed — the human sense of touch, has introduced the smaller, stronger BioTac SP that integrates with Shadow Robot Company’s Dexterous Hand. This new technology debuted at IROS 2015 in Hamburg Germany 28 September–3 October 2015.

Since its launch in 2008, BioTac has been the world’s most advanced and human-like tactile sensor. Its uniquely biomimetic design provides the same mechanical properties and sensory modalities as the human finger: skin deformation, vibration, temperature.

SynTouch’s BioTac sensor consists of an elastic skin over an epoxy core, where the electronics are located. Between the skin and the epoxy core is a layer of fluid. Electrodes on the surface of the core come into contact with the fluid, and when an object is grasped, the system maps the resulting electronic signals. Those signals include pressure, vibration and temperature.

For example, a human fingertip can sense texture. When we rub a finger over a surface we feel vibrations. In the case of the BioTac sensor, this is detected by vibrations in the sensor’s fluid layer. Similarly, we sense temperature by sensing the difference in temperature between our body and the surface we touch. The BioTac sensor has a small heating element to heat the sensor to a temperature slightly above the surrounding environment. When the sensor comes in contact with a surface, the difference is sensed via a thermocouple. So when touching a metal object, for example, more heat will flow from the sensor than when it touches a fabric.

Combining temperature, pressure and vibration sensing allows the BioTac sensor to provide information to enable surface-sensitive feedback to the robot.

Now the same BioTac technology has been miniaturised to the BioTac SP — single phalanx — design. SynTouch has worked with the Shadow Robot Company to integrate this onto their Dexterous Hand: an anthropomorphic robotic hand. This marks the first time a robotic hand has had all the sensory capabilities and all the articulations of a human hand.

“The best just got better. The BioTac SP sensor has all the same sensory modalities as the BioTac, in a single-phalanx design that preserves the distal articulations of anthropomorphic hands,” said Matthew Borzage, head of business development at SynTouch.

The BioTac SP uses cutting-edge technology to pack even more sensors and capabilities into half the volume with over twice the strength. It provides computing power for onboard feature extraction that can be upgraded through future firmware updates.

Integration systems are now available for highly articulated hands available from Shadow Robot Company and other robotics manufacturers.

Image: Shadow Robot Company.