The BioTac - Biomimetic Tactile Sensor
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Description
The BioTac® is our flagship product and is a unique tactile sensor capable of acquiring information unavailable from any other commercially available tactile sensors. Purchasing the BioTac Evaluation Kit provides a BioTac sensor and the materials required to acquire data on a PC and evaluate the performance of the BioTac. The Evaluation Kit is the simplest way to purchase a BioTac, plug it into a Windows-based computer, and acquire data.
The BioTac® is a revolutionary tactile sensor system from SynTouch LLC. The patented design consists of a rigid core surrounded by an elastic skin filled with a fluid to give a compliance remarkably similar to the human fingertip. The BioTac is the first sensor capable of detecting the full range of sensory information that human fingers can detect: forces, microvibrations, and thermal gradients. We've incorporated these sensory functions into the device without placing a single sensor in the skin itself. The skin is an easily replaced, low-cost, molded elastomeric sleeve. The sensors, electronic circuitry and connections are protected inside the rigid core, making the BioTac in a class of its own when it comes to robustness.
Additional Information
Sensor Output
| Sensory modality | Range | Resolution | Sampling Rate (Hz) | Frequency Response (Hz) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Impedance | 0-3.3V | 3.2mV | 100 | 0-50 |
| Fluid Pressure | 0-100kPa | 0.1kPa | 100 | 0-50 |
| Microvibration | +/-2kPa | 2Pa | 2200 | 10-1100 |
| Temperature | 0-60C | 0.1C | 100 | 0-50 |
| Thermal Flux | +/-1C/s | 0.001C/s | 100 | 0.1-50 |
Dynamic Range
0.01-50N (~100-1000 K Ohms)
Repeatability
<5% within range
Hysteresis
<5% within range
Spatial resolution
<3mm
Other Information
Raw data collected from the BioTac includes:
- Voltages of 19 impedance sensing electrodes (skin deformation)
- Total fluid pressure
- Hydrophonic fluid pressure (microvibrations on the skin surface)
- Temperature and heat flow (into contacted objects)
Processing of these data permits extraction of:
- Tri-Axial forces and centroid localization
- Object compliance
- Skin deformation and contour
- Surface texture properties (roughness and slipperiness)
- Thermal properties (discrimination between dissimilar materials)
