Artificial tactile sensing and haptic perception

A critical evaluation of the state of the art in tactile sensing is presented. Various fields of application such as prosthetic and teleoperation are covered, but particular attention is paid to advanced robotics. Tactile sensing modalities are discussed in some detail through reference to basic issues of contact mechanics to provide clues for the conception and design of artificial haptic systems capable of surface texture discrimination, stable object grasping, fine-form detection, hardness evaluation and thermal sensing.