A GelSight sensor attached to a robotâ’‘s gripper enables the robot to determine precisely where it has grasped a small screwdriver, removing it from and inserting it back into a slot, even when the gripper screens the screwdriver from the robotâ’’s camera.
Eight years ago, Ted Adelsonâ?'s research group at MITâ''s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) unveiled a new sensor technology, called GelSight, that uses physical contact with an object to provide a remarkably detailed 3-D map of its surface. Now, by mounting GelSight sensors on the grippers of robotic arms, two MIT teams have given robots greater sensitivity and dexterity. The researchers presented their work in two papers at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation last week. In one paper, Adelsonâ?'s group uses the data from the GelSight sensor to enable a robot to judge the hardness of surfaces it touches â'' a crucial ability if household robots are to handle everyday objects. In the other, Russ Tedrakeâ??s Robot Locomotion Group at CSAIL uses GelSight sensors to enable a robot to manipulate smaller objects than was previously possible. The GelSight sensor is, in some ways, a low-tech solution to a difficult problem. It consists of a block of transparent rubber â?- the â?'gelâ'' of its name â?- one face of which is coated with metallic paint.
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