# Soft, Round, High Resolution Tactile Fingertip Sensors for Dexterous Robotic Manipulation

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.09068 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.09068/

## Key facts

- Cited by 9 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 18 May 2020.

## Built on by (most cited first, 9 of 9)

- [Sequential Dexterity: Chaining Dexterous Policies for Long-Horizon Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.00987/) (2023)
- [GelSight Wedge: Measuring High-Resolution 3D Contact Geometry with a Compact Robot Finger](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.08851/) (2021)
- [DenseTact: Optical Tactile Sensor for Dense Shape Reconstruction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.01367/) (2022)
- [GelSight Svelte: A Human Finger-shaped Single-camera Tactile Robot Finger with Large Sensing Coverage and Proprioceptive Sensing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.10885/) (2023)
- [A soft thumb-sized vision-based sensor with accurate all-round force perception](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.05934/) (2021)
- [GelBelt: A Vision-based Tactile Sensor for Continuous Sensing of Large Surfaces](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.06263/) (2025)
- [NLiPsCalib: An Efficient Calibration Framework for High-Fidelity 3D Reconstruction of Curved Visuotactile Sensors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.09319/) (2026)
- [The Role of Tactile Sensing for Learning Reach and Grasp](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.20367/) (2025)
- [A Modularized Design Approach for GelSight Family of Vision-based Tactile Sensors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.14739/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

High resolution tactile sensors are often bulky and have shape profiles that make them awkward for use in manipulation. This becomes important when using such sensors as fingertips for dexterous multi-fingered hands, where boxy or planar fingertips limit the available set of smooth manipulation strategies. High resolution optical based sensors such as GelSight have until now been constrained to relatively flat geometries due to constraints on illumination geometry.Here, we show how to construct a rounded fingertip that utilizes a form of light piping for directional illumination. Our sensors can replace the standard rounded fingertips of the Allegro hand.They can capture high resolution maps of the contact surfaces,and can be used to support various dexterous manipulation tasks.