The Importance of Touch Sensing in Robotics
Touch sensing is creating a lot of buzz these days. From mobile to computing devices, touch recognition is already enabled for better user experience. In fact, this breakthrough has raised the bar a notch higher in robotic science. To date, there is already a subarea in robotic science that continues to research, develop, and implement robotic sensing. The result is human-like robots that do not only see but also feel and hear everything around them and transmit all these information for future use. Such is imperative in dangerous environments where human exposure can lead to untoward incidences.
Touch sensing in robotics has always been an obsession to humankind for the very many benefits it can offer the world of science in bettering human lives. In the making, this requires robot sensors to measure the quantity of physical activity around these robots. These activities include speed and pressure. They can measure light, sound frequency, proximity of an object, bearing, color, and even distances in between objects. They can measure space co-ordinates, infrared, ultraviolet rays wavelength, heat, and magnitude. These are electrically measured and then converted into signals that can be used in a variety of studies and developments back in the lab.
Capacitive Sensor on the top of the Qbo´s head
There are a lot of robotic sensors used in building human-like robots. Among these are capacitive, inductive, magnetic, photoelectric, and ultrasonic or proximity sensors. Advanced applications for sensors are also used like image sensors in webcams, as well as vision software in OpenCV. The touch sensing sensors of robots are known as tactile sensors. This one is modelled after cutaneous touch biological sense. This allows a robot to detect stimuli from a variety of physical interaction with the surrounding or environment. The list includes mechanical stimulation, pain, and temperature. Tactile sensors may be in the form of capacitive, elastoresistive piezoelectric, and piezoresistive.
The importance of touch sensing in robotics includes data collection, inspection, safety monitoring, as well as interlocking in highly controlled working cell. This help prevent human exposure to untoward incidences as well as avoid any occurrence of physical injuries or damage to all human workers. It is also important for space works and data collection, thereby lessening the chances of human activity and the number of human on every route to save time, effort and money. The same is true in dangerous outdoor encounters and activities where exposing human lives is not an option. Using touch sensing robots instead offers the same results with lesser casualties.
Truly, the importance of touch sensing in robotics is very useful in identifying external cutaneous or tactile signals on different occasions where accuracy is of highest importance. The touch patterns allow robots to identify and interpret human emotions through interaction. They make use of touch signals in mapping profiles for hostile environments and send all these gathered information to the receiving center for further analysis and studies. From here, humans are able to infer and conclude and develop better technology for the entire mankind to enjoy.
