Robots That Sense Before They Touch
Technology Review (09/17/07) Greene, Kate
Intel researchers have developed a sensor for robotic arms that allows the robot to sense an
object before actually touching it. For example, a robotic arm is capable of telling the
difference between an empty bottle and a bottle filled with water without touching either
one. The technology, known as pre-touch, is intended to "improve the ability of robots to
grasp objects in unstructured human environments," says Intel research scientist Josh
Smith. Pre-touch's electric-field (EF) proximity sensors are electrodes made of copper and
aluminum foil. A current is sent to one of the electrodes, which creates a magnetic field and
induces a current in the other electrodes. When the robotic hand gets near metal or
anything with water in it, the object reduces the induced current, which is detected by the
sensors. Special algorithms process the information and instruct the robotic hand to move
around the object accordingly. Smith developed similar EF sensors while he was a student at
MIT. Those sensors were used to help determine the position of people in a car, information
that was used to determine how to deploy airbags during an accident. Smith says his current
EF research will now involve developing algorithms capable of handling the complex data
that EF sensors produce, particularly when the object or the robot is in motion.
http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/19389/?a=f
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Technology Review (09/17/07) Greene, Kate
Intel researchers have developed a sensor for robotic arms that allows the robot to sense an
object before actually touching it. For example, a robotic arm is capable of telling the
difference between an empty bottle and a bottle filled with water without touching either
one. The technology, known as pre-touch, is intended to "improve the ability of robots to
grasp objects in unstructured human environments," says Intel research scientist Josh
Smith. Pre-touch's electric-field (EF) proximity sensors are electrodes made of copper and
aluminum foil. A current is sent to one of the electrodes, which creates a magnetic field and
induces a current in the other electrodes. When the robotic hand gets near metal or
anything with water in it, the object reduces the induced current, which is detected by the
sensors. Special algorithms process the information and instruct the robotic hand to move
around the object accordingly. Smith developed similar EF sensors while he was a student at
MIT. Those sensors were used to help determine the position of people in a car, information
that was used to determine how to deploy airbags during an accident. Smith says his current
EF research will now involve developing algorithms capable of handling the complex data
that EF sensors produce, particularly when the object or the robot is in motion.
http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/19389/?a=f
Next
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