A miniaturized array microneedle tactile sensor for intelligent object recognition

Abstract

Tactile sensors can provide intuitive information about the shape, size, and texture of objects, which helps robots make more accurate decisions. In this paper, based on the principle of triboelectrification and electrostatic induction, a miniature tactile sensor (MTS) for smart object recognition is designed using composite materials based on silica gel. Its diameter is only 6 mm, and the electrodes are arranged in a circumferential array, which has excellent shape adaptability and can recognize curved materials with curvature of 1/15 mm−1. By optimizing the sensor structure and process to obtain a microstructure with a spike-like shape, the sensitivity of the sensor is successfully improved, and the smallest and accurately detected surface material side length is 5 mm. In addition, the article provides a smart sensor system that can enhance the recognition function of robots with the help of machine learning technology, and the discrimination accuracy reaches 95.7%, which lays a solid foundation for practical applications.