2021/03/23 by Ian Taylor, Taylor, Ian, Siyuan Dong +3 · 13 citations
Engineering · Neuroscience · #Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Robot Manipulation and Learning #Robotics (cs.RO) #Tactile and Sensory Interactions
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2103.12269
openalex publication_date 2021/03/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
This work presents a new version of the tactile-sensing finger GelSlim 3.0, which integrates the ability to sense high-resolution shape, force, and slip in a compact form factor for use with small parallel jaw grippers in cluttered bin-picking scenarios. The novel design incorporates the capability to use real-time analytic methods to measure shape, estimate the contact 3D force distribution, and detect incipient slip. To achieve a compact integration, we optimize the optical path from illumination source to camera and other geometric variables in a optical simulation environment. In particular, we optimize the illumination sources and a light shaping lens around the constraints imposed by the photometric stereo algorithm used for depth reconstruction. The optimized optical configuration is integrated into a finger design composed of robust and easily replaceable snap-to-fit fingetip module that allow for ease of manufacture, assembly, use, and repair. To stimulate future research in tactile-sensing and provide the robotics community access to reliable and easily-reproducible tactile finger with a diversity of sensing modalities, we open-source the design and software at https://github.com/mcubelab/gelslim.