ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the opportunities in this field to discuss the major requirements and challenges for tactile sensors. In smart human–object interactions, an almost obvious application was to use robots as an intermediate tool between humans and the operative environment, for instance for intervention in critical or dangerous area, or in robot-assisted medicine. For sensing applications, the vertical or planar deformation of the material can result in a vertical polarization of the piezoelectric element coupled to a mechanical structure as described for piezoresistive sensors. Capacitive sensors are one of the simplest configurations of pressure sensor, and are typically implemented by the use of two electrodes and a compressible dielectric layer or a membrane and an air gap. Slip detection is an intrinsically dynamic measure suited for piezoelectric, triaxial resistive tactile sensors or in general if the bandwidth of the sensor and of the readout electronics is sufficient. Piezoelectric devices are widely used for tactile sensing.
