Jun-ichiro Yuji

A new multifunctional tactile sensing technique by selective data processing

To obtain three parameter tactile information, (contact force, temperature change, and contact situation) using two sensor output signals of a tactile sensor consisting of a mono-material sensing device, a new multifunctional tactile sensing technique using selective data processing is proposed. A pressure-conductive rubber tactile sensor with temperature dependency, which compared with one of the minute sense receptors of the human skin, was experimentally made to confirm the proposed sensing technique. The ability of the sensor was tested under various contact conditions. As experimental results, the usefulness of the proposed multi functional tactile sensing technique was confirmed.

Thermal-type tactile sensor for material discrimination and contact pressure sensing

In this paper, we describe a thermal-type tactile sensor modeled on the human skin to discriminate different materials on the basis of their thermal properties and to sense contact pressure on the basis of strain of the sensor. The transient thermal response of the sensor was simulated using a one-dimensional contact model of the sensor and the material. The simulation results indicated that material discrimination and contact pressure sensing were possible using two temperature changes of the sensor.

PROPOSAL OF A SELF-HEATED COMPOSITE TOUCH SENSOR FOR MATERIAL DISCRIMINATION

In this paper, a self-heated composite touch sensor with two kinds of sensing mechanisms for material discrimination is described. One sensing mechanism is pressure-conductive rubber sheet with a temperature dependence that determines both the hardness and thermal property of a material. The other is a pair of comb-shaped electrodes with a capacitive-inductive function to determine both the dielectric and magnetic properties of a material. Through integrated use of this sensor, discrimination of some typical sample materials with flat surfaces was successfully performed.