Using tactile whiskers to measure surface contours

The author describes the first stage of a project to gather three-dimensional information about the world using whisker sensors. Design criteria for the whisker sensors were accuracy, speed, and durability. Preliminary work has shown that detailed surface profiles can be recorded by scanning passive whisker sensors over a surface using a robot arm to provide mobility. Results which demonstrate that whisker sensors can determine the profile of both concave and convex surfaces are presented. However, there were situations in which the whisker sensor fails to provide correct information. Additional sensors have been incorporated into the whiskers to detect these conditions so that the false information can be discarded. An array of whiskers has been simulated by repeated scanning with a single whisker sensor. Further work which aims to increase the scanning speed of the sensor by creating an array of a whiskers and by improving the data collection facilities is outlined.>