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Completed TRL 3 (started at 3, targeting 4)
Create soft, conformable, robotic skin with active embedded sensors and processing, which will allow a robot to easily acquire and interpret tactile data. Significant research has been focused on tactile sensing in the last decades, but very little research has considered the system challenges for robot skins. This research specifically addresses these challenges by incorporating compliant wiring in the skin structure and embedded control to relay abstracted touch concepts to higher level controllers. The scalability of compliant skins is also addressed by developing fabrication methods that can scale from high density fingertips to large area arrays for robotic arms or bodies.
This technology, when fully matured, will provide a conformable membrane or skin with embedded sensors, which can be placed over the outside of a robot (for example over its fingers), providing the ability to gather and interpret tactile data, in essence, giving it a sense of touch.
If successful, the results of this research will lead to the first robots that can integrate large amounts of spatially distributed touch information at low cost (money, time and integration) to better interact with humans.
The applications for robots with a sense of touch are almost endless, and include:
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This is early/mid-stage (TRL 3) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.
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