Development and Application of Soft Tactile Sensors

We develop soft tactile sensors that enable rich bodily contact between robots and humans/environments. From multi-axis force sensors that combine magnetorheological elastomers with inductors, to flow-channel-based soft sensors using liquid metal, to optical sensors that measure surface deformation, we explore novel combinations of deformable materials and transduction principles, applying them to robots.

Related papers:

• Seiichi Yamamoto, Hiroki Ishizuka, Takumi Kawasetsu, Koh Hosoda, Takayuki Kameoka, Kango Yanagida, Takato Horii, Yusuke Sakaue, Sei Ikeda, Osamu Oshiro. “External Photoreflective Tactile Sensing Based on Surface Deformation Measurement”. IEEE Sensors Journal, Early Access, 2026.
• Yuki Hashimoto, Hiroki Ishizuka, Takumi Kawasetsu, Takato Horii, Sei Ikeda, Osamu Oshiro. “Selective Voltage Application to Connected Loads Using Soft Matter Computer Based on Conductive Droplet Interval Design”. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 8(3), 1747-1754, March 2023.
• Shota Hamaguchi, Takumi Kawasetsu, Takato Horii, Hisashi Ishihara, Ryuma Niiyama, Koh Hosoda, Minoru Asada. “Soft Inductive Tactile Sensor Using Flow-Channel Enclosing Liquid Metal”. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 5(3), 4028-4034, April 2020.
• Takumi Kawasetsu, Takato Horii, Hisashi Ishihara, Minoru Asada. “Flexible Tri-Axis Tactile Sensor Using Spiral Inductor and Magnetorheological Elastomer”. IEEE Sensors Journal, 18(14), 5834-5841, June 2018.