Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Path: brunix!uunet!magnesium.club.cc.cmu.edu!cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!deadslug
From: deadslug+@B.GP.CS.CMU.EDU (Richard Voyles)
Subject: Tactile sensors
Message-ID: <CBx0wC.JLF.2@cs.cmu.edu>
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Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1993 18:05:00 GMT
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I'm looking for people (meaning companies, individuals, Universities, etc)
who are producing tactile sensors suitable for the Utah/MIT hand. I've
read several papers which claim to be "on the threshold of commercializing"
such beasts but I realize everybody says that to fish for extra grant
money.

Does anybody really have anything available? I'm looking for something
with some degree of spatial resolution (a la Ron Fearing or Dave Siegel
(sp?)) in an array sensor, or some unique sensing properties like
thermal, or slip (a la Cutkosky or Howe), or miniature resolved
Force/Torque fingertip sensors (a la Dario or Salisbury).

I'm aware of things like Interlink (which we're trying) and Force 
Imaging Technology (which we may try), but I'm interested if anything
"more complete" is available. Perhaps something for the Salisbury
Hand can be modified for attachment to the Utah/MIT hand.

Also, if someone is building something beyond the prototyping stage
(we have our own prototypes but want something more stable) we might
be interested in some cost sharing to build multiple copies.

Please respond to robodude@cmu.edu.
