Robots aren't known for their gentle touch and thoughtful caress, but that could all be about to change. A team of engineers has developed a robotic finger that's capable of detecting textures—and it's more sensitive than a human hand.
The researchers, from the University of Southern California's Viterbi School of Engineering, have created a sensor which features a soft exterior skin, with a textured pattern which acts as a kind of finger print, that surrounds a liquid filling and central, bone-mimicking core.
When the finger moves across the surface of a piece of textured material, small vibrations are transmitted through the skin and liquid, and then detected by a hydrophone—basically, an underwater microphone—housed within the core. As well as detecting texture, the researchers claim it can also sense directional forces and temperature, too.
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