Dense Tactile Force Distribution Estimation using GelSlim and inverse FEM
This work addresses the need for real-time, high-density force sensing in robotics, offering a domain-specific improvement for tactile perception.
The paper tackled the problem of estimating dense tactile force distributions by introducing GelSlim 2.0, a vision-based sensor with improved hardware, and using inverse Finite Element Method (iFEM) to reconstruct forces from marker displacements, achieving physically reasonable results with good accuracy in experiments.
In this paper, we present a new version of tactile sensor GelSlim 2.0 with the capability to estimate the contact force distribution in real time. The sensor is vision-based and uses an array of markers to track deformations on a gel pad due to contact. A new hardware design makes the sensor more rugged, parametrically adjustable and improves illumination. Leveraging the sensor's increased functionality, we propose to use inverse Finite Element Method (iFEM), a numerical method to reconstruct the contact force distribution based on marker displacements. The sensor is able to provide force distribution of contact with high spatial density. Experiments and comparison with ground truth show that the reconstructed force distribution is physically reasonable with good accuracy.