Tactile sensor for robotic system using cosmetic powder brush

Introducing tactile sensation to robotic system is one of the biggest challenges for robotic researchers. Since several sensations such as audio, visual, force and kinetic sensation have already been installed in robotic systems, tactile sensation may bring a next breakthrough for intelligent systems. Hence, this study proposes a new idea of tactile sensor for robotic systems using a cosmetic powder brush. That is, the brush is used in our system as a tracing element against an object. The vibration during the brush traces an object is measured using a piezoelectric vibration sensor which is attached to the base of brush's bristles. Tracing experiments are conducted with 9 samples of underclothes' fabrics and a paper. Vibration data obtained shows distinct differences between the samples. This may suggest that the cosmetic powder brush could be used as a tracing element of tactile sensor because it can distinguishes a slight difference of texture of objects.