Event-based Tactile Image Sensor for Detecting Spatio-Temporal Fast Phenomena in Contacts

We proposed an event-based tactile image sensor that provides tactile information with high temporal and spatial resolution. The sensor consists of an elastomer fingertip in which 361 markers are embedded and an event-based camera which detects temporal changes of intensity in each pixel. When the force is applied to the soft fingertip, it deforms and markers in the fingertip also move. Each pixel in the event-based camera responds to the motion of makers and generates events. Temporal resolution of the proposed tactile sensor is 500 μs and the number of pixels of the event-based camera used here is 128×128. The proposed sensor can detect fast phenomena in contacts and also measure the spatial contact pattern such as contact position and orientation.