Related papers: Learning to Feel Materials from Multisensory Tacti…

We want to enable fine manipulation with a multi-fingered robotic hand by using modern deep reinforcement learning methods. Key for fine manipulation is a spatially resolved tactile sensor. Here, we present a novel model of a tactile skin…

Soft robots are typically approximated as low-dimensional systems, especially when learning-based methods are used. This leads to models that are limited in their capability to predict the large number of deformation modes and interactions…

Robotic palpation relies on force sensing, but force signals in soft-tissue environments are variable and cannot reliably reveal subtle subsurface features. We present a compact multimodal sensor that integrates high-resolution vision-based…

The tactile sensation of textiles is critical in determining the comfort of clothing. For remote use, such as online shopping, users cannot physically touch the textile of clothes, making it difficult to evaluate its tactile sensation.…

We investigate a human-like interpretable model of video understanding. Humans recognise complex activities in video by recognising critical spatio-temporal relations among explicitly recognised objects and parts, for example, an object…

Many surface cues support three-dimensional shape perception, but people can sometimes still see shape when these features are missing -- in extreme cases, even when an object is completely occluded, as when covered with a draped cloth. We…

The technological transition from soft machines to soft robots necessarily passes through the integration of soft electronics and sensors. This allows for the establishment of feedback control systems while preserving the softness of the…

Developments in touch-sensitive textiles have enabled many novel interactive techniques and applications. Our digitally-knitted capacitive active sensors can be manufactured at scale with little human intervention. Their sensitive areas are…

This paper presents a novel design of a soft tactile finger with omni-directional adaptation using multi-channel optical fibers for rigid-soft interactive grasping. Machine learning methods are used to train a model for real-time prediction…

Robot touch can benefit from how humans perceive tactile textural information, from the stimulation mode to which tactile channels respond, then the tactile cues and encoding. Using a soft biomimetic tactile sensor (the TacTip) based on the…

A long-standing question in robot hand design is how accurate tactile sensing must be. This paper uses simulated tactile signals and the reinforcement learning (RL) framework to study the sensing needs in grasping systems. Our first…

Estimating physical properties is critical for safe and efficient autonomous robotic manipulation, particularly during contact-rich interactions. In such settings, vision and tactile sensing provide complementary information about object…

Robots operating in an open world will encounter novel objects with unknown physical properties, such as mass, friction, or size. These robots will need to sense these properties through interaction prior to performing downstream tasks with…

The potential of large tactile arrays to improve robot perception for safe operation in human-dominated environments and of high-resolution tactile arrays to enable human-level dexterous manipulation is well accepted. However, the increase…

In this paper, we present an approach to tactile pose estimation from the first touch for known objects. First, we create an object-agnostic map from real tactile observations to contact shapes. Next, for a new object with known geometry,…

Humans can infer the three-dimensional structure of objects from two-dimensional visual inputs. Modeling this ability has been a longstanding goal for the science and engineering of visual intelligence, yet decades of computational methods…

Natural human interactions for Mixed Reality Applications are overwhelmingly multimodal: humans communicate intent and instructions via a combination of visual, aural and gestural cues. However, supporting low-latency and accurate…

A key challenge in robotic food manipulation is modeling the material properties of diverse and deformable food items. We propose using a multimodal sensory approach to interact and play with food that facilitates the ability to distinguish…

To touch and be touched are vital to human development, well being, and relationships. However, to those who have lost their arms and hands due to accident or war, touching becomes a serious concern that often leads to psychosocial issues…

Understanding and modeling consumers' stylistic taste such as "sporty" is crucial for creating designs that truly connect with target audiences. However, capturing taste during the design process remains challenging because taste is…