Innovative Approach to Contact Position and Area Estimation via Response Mapping of Tactile Sensor with Microcantilevers Embedded in Elastomer

In tactile sensors with the elastomer, it is known that the spatial detection performance depends on the density of the detector element. In this study, it is demonstrated that the directivity of the spatial distribution of response can be controlled by combining the responses of two strain gauges attached to the microcantilever as the detector, and as a result, the position of the applied force could be accurately estimated with a single element. It is revealed that the spatial distribution of response depends on contact area, suggesting the possibility of back-calculating the contact surface from the response distribution.