%0 Journal Article %J IEEE Transactions on Haptics %D 2016 %T ThimbleSense: a fingertip-wearable tactile sensor for grasp analysis %A E. Battaglia %A M. Bianchi %A Altobelli, A %A G. Grioli %A M. G. Catalano %A A. Serio %A M. Santello %A A. Bicchi %K Haptics %K Robotics %X

Accurate measurement of contact forces between hand and grasped objects is crucial to study sensorimotor control during grasp and manipulation. In this work we introduce ThimbleSense, a prototype of individual-digit wearable force/torque sensor based on the principle of intrinsic tactile sensing. By exploiting the integration of this approach with an active marker-based motion capture system, the proposed device simultaneously measures absolute position and orientation of the fingertip, which in turn yields measurements of contacts and force components expressed in a global reference frame. The main advantage of this approach with respect to more conventional solutions is its versatility. Specifically, ThimbleSense can be used to study grasping and manipulation of a wide variety of objects, while still retaining complete force/torque measurements. Nevertheless, validation of the proposed device is a necessary step before it can be used for experimental purposes. In this work we present the results of a series of experiments designed to validate the accuracy of ThimbleSense measurements and evaluate the effects of distortion of tactile afferent inputs caused by the device’s rigid shells on grasp forces.

%B IEEE Transactions on Haptics %V 9 %P 121-133 %8 03/2016 %G eng %U http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=7294702 %N 1 %R 10.1109/TOH.2015.2482478