Soft Contact

Soft contact in robotics focuses on developing robots capable of interacting with their environment through compliant, adaptable surfaces, mimicking the dexterity and safety of human touch. Current research emphasizes the development of soft, sensorized skins for robotic hands, incorporating advanced materials and vision-based sensing to accurately measure and respond to contact forces and deformations. These advancements leverage machine learning techniques, particularly deep neural networks, for force estimation and control, enabling more robust and precise manipulation of both rigid and deformable objects. This work has significant implications for improving robotic manipulation in various fields, including manufacturing, healthcare, and human-robot interaction.