High-Resolution Contact Localization and Three-Axis Force Estimation with a Sparse Strain-Node Tactile Interface Device
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: High-resolution contact localization and three-axis force estimation are crucial for human-robot interaction and precision manipulation, yet the sensing area is limited by channel density and wiring cost. Sparse strain readout makes joint estimation of location and three-axis force challenging due to cross-axis coupling and nonlinear responses, while dense arrays or extensive calibration increase complexity. We present a sparse strain-node tactile interface device (SSTID) whose three-module layout is optimized via particle swarm optimization to maximize informative response overlap, enabling contact localization (x,y) and three-axis force (Fx,Fy,Fz) estimation using only nine strain channels. We further propose a strain-node contact-state decoding framework (SCDF) implemented with a lightweight multilayer perceptron and trained via a two-stage sim-to-real strategy, including FEM pretraining followed by few-shot real-data adaptation. Experiments demonstrate accurate contact-state decoding with full-workspace characterization, supporting low-cost and scalable deployment of sparse tactile interfaces.
Source: Sensors
DOI: 10.3390/s26041378
Institution: Sun Yat-sen University
Language: English
Subfield: Control and Systems Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,137
OpenAlex ID: W7130987287
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