Equilibration device for tactile sensors on curved surfaces

Abstract

Tactile sensors are arrays of force sensing units called taxels and equilibration is necessary to normalize their response. This is commonly done by applying uniform pressure while the sensor lies on a flat surface. However, the surface of the destination system often has a different shape, for instance in robotic hands. Therefore, a device able to exert uniform pressure on curved surfaces could be helpful in this task. This paper explores the use of a custom pressurized chamber, large enough to host the whole system. The chamber has been built and the approach has been tested using a commercial sensor.