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Human tactile perception as a standard for artificial tactile sensing—a review
Author(s) -
Dargahi J,
Najarian S
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
the international journal of medical robotics and computer assisted surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.556
H-Index - 53
eISSN - 1478-596X
pISSN - 1478-5951
DOI - 10.1002/rcs.3
Subject(s) - tactile perception , computer science , tactile sensor , artificial intelligence , perception , robotics , human–computer interaction , computer vision , process (computing) , tactile stimuli , sensitivity (control systems) , robot , sensory system , psychology , engineering , neuroscience , electronic engineering , operating system
In this paper, we examine the most important features of human skin tactile properties with special emphasis on the characteristics which are vital in the design of artificial systems. Contrary to the visual and auditory senses, the touch signal is not a well‐defined quantity. As a result, the researchers of this field are still dealing with the basics of collecting the most relevant data. Following this, mimicking the sense of touch by producing artificial tactile skin is a challenging process. Although the sense of touch is widely distributed all over the human body, the tactile perception in the human hand is of great importance in terms of surgical and medical robotics applications. In this study, the role of various mechanoreceptors in the human hand, such as, RA, SA I, SA II, and PC units are discussed in relation to the stimuli like force, position, softness, and surface texture. Taking human hand as a suitable tactile model, the necessary engineering features of an artificial tactile sensor, such as, spatial and temporal resolutions, force sensitivity, and linearity, are being reviewed. In this work, we also report on the current and possible future applications of tactile sensors in various surgical procedures. Copyright © 2004 Robotic Publications Ltd.