SpectraTac: A Compact Camera-Free Optical Tactile Sensor with Distributed Color Sensing
Overview
This research presents SpectraTac, a compact optical tactile sensor that combines active RGB illumination with spatially distributed color sensing to measure 3D force and contact regions without cameras. The device measures 19.2 mm in diameter and 4 mm in height, costs under USD 5, and achieves mean absolute errors of 0.161, 0.164, and 0.429 N for x-, y-, and z-axis force prediction respectively, with a nine-region contact classification accuracy of 99.9%. The authors evaluate real-time tracking and human-machine interaction capabilities, positioning the sensor as a low-cost alternative to camera-based systems for robotics and wearable applications.
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Event evidence and corrections
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Reported quantity · force prediction MAE x-axis: 0.161 other · Basis not reported
“, with a material cost below USD~5. A data-driven decoding framework simultaneously estimates three-dimensional (3D) force and the contact region from the optical measurements. For 3D force prediction, the sensor achieved mean absolute errors (MAEs) of 0.161, 0.164, and 0.429 N along the x-, y-, and z-axes, respectively. The nine-region contact-classification accuracy was 99.9%. We further evaluated real-time 3D forc”
Exact source · revision 1Source owner not reported
Reported quantity · force prediction MAE y-axis: 0.164 other · Basis not reported
“, with a material cost below USD~5. A data-driven decoding framework simultaneously estimates three-dimensional (3D) force and the contact region from the optical measurements. For 3D force prediction, the sensor achieved mean absolute errors (MAEs) of 0.161, 0.164, and 0.429 N along the x-, y-, and z-axes, respectively. The nine-region contact-classification accuracy was 99.9%. We further evaluated real-time 3D forc”
Exact source · revision 1Source owner not reported
Reported quantity · force prediction MAE z-axis: 0.429 other · Basis not reported
“, with a material cost below USD~5. A data-driven decoding framework simultaneously estimates three-dimensional (3D) force and the contact region from the optical measurements. For 3D force prediction, the sensor achieved mean absolute errors (MAEs) of 0.161, 0.164, and 0.429 N along the x-, y-, and z-axes, respectively. The nine-region contact-classification accuracy was 99.9%. We further evaluated real-time 3D forc”
Exact source · revision 1Source owner not reported
Reported quantity · Reported accuracy: 99.9 percent · reported trials
“, with a material cost below USD~5. A data-driven decoding framework simultaneously estimates three-dimensional (3D) force and the contact region from the optical measurements. For 3D force prediction, the sensor achieved mean absolute errors (MAEs) of 0.161, 0.164, and 0.429 N along the x-, y-, and z-axes, respectively. The nine-region contact-classification accuracy was 99.9%. We further evaluated real-time 3D forc”
Exact source · revision 1Source owner not reported
Reported quantity · sensor diameter: 19.2 other · Basis not reported
“lly distributed color sensing. Contact deforms a compliant transparent elastomer and modulates its internal light field, producing spatially differentiated changes in color and intensity. Three distributed color sensors capture these responses as low-dimensional spatio-spectral features, avoiding cameras, imaging optics, and high-dimensional image processing. The device measures 19.2 mm in diameter and 4 mm in height”
Exact source · revision 1Source owner not reported
Reported quantity · sensor height: 4 other · Basis not reported
“lly distributed color sensing. Contact deforms a compliant transparent elastomer and modulates its internal light field, producing spatially differentiated changes in color and intensity. Three distributed color sensors capture these responses as low-dimensional spatio-spectral features, avoiding cameras, imaging optics, and high-dimensional image processing. The device measures 19.2 mm in diameter and 4 mm in height”
Exact source · revision 1Source owner not reported
Reported quantity · material cost: 5 other · Basis not reported
“, with a material cost below USD~5. A data-driven decoding framework simultaneously estimates three-dimensional (3D) force and the contact region from the optical measurements. For 3D force prediction, the sensor achieved mean absolute errors (MAEs) of 0.161, 0.164, and 0.429 N along the x-, y-, and z-axes, respectively. The nine-region contact-classification accuracy was 99.9%. We further evaluated real-time 3D forc”
Exact source · revision 1Source owner not reported
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- arXiv Robotics — research abstractsSignalSpectraTac: A Compact Camera-Free Optical Tactile Sensor with Distributed Color Sensing
This research presents SpectraTac, a compact optical tactile sensor that combines active RGB illumination with spatially distributed color sensing to measure 3D force and contact regions without cameras. The device measures 19.2 mm in diameter and 4 mm in height, costs under USD 5, and achieves mean absolute errors of 0.161, 0.164, and 0.429 N for x-, y-, and z-axis force prediction respectively, with a nine-region contact classification accuracy of 99.9%. The authors evaluate real-time tracking and human-machine interaction capabilities, positioning the sensor as a low-cost alternative to camera-based systems for robotics and wearable applications.
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