A hemispheric hetero-core fiber optic tactile sensor for texture and hardness detection

This paper describes a hemispheric tactile sensor based on a hetero-core optical fiber for texture and hardness detection in a small contact area. The hetero-core fiber optic sensors developed in our laboratory have been proved to have several attractive advantages such as high sensitivity to soft bending, immunity to temperature fluctuation and cost-effective scheme. The hemisphere-shaped hetero-core fiber optic tactile sensor converts the applied force into the bending curvature on a hetero-core optical fiber. To evaluate the detection performance of minute-structured rough surface, the proposed sensor was tested for scanning on a cloth with the periodic pattern of 0.74 mm. Additionally, it was confirmed that the sensor was able to detect local hardness distributions of hard plastic lumps which were embedded into silicone rubbers. It was furthermore discussed that the sensor can be applied for precise discrimination of such household objects as several kinds of papers with different texture and hardness.