# A Virtual 2D Tactile Array for Soft Actuators Using Acoustic Sensing

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2208.10218 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.10218/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 22 Aug 2022.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Single and bi-layered 2-D acoustic soft tactile skin (AST2)](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.14292/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We create a virtual 2D tactile array for soft pneumatic actuators using embedded audio components. We detect contact-specific changes in sound modulation to infer tactile information. We evaluate different sound representations and learning methods to detect even small contact variations. We demonstrate the acoustic tactile sensor array by the example of a PneuFlex actuator and use a Braille display to individually control the contact of 29x4 pins with the actuator's 90x10 mm palmar surface. Evaluating the spatial resolution, the acoustic sensor localizes edges in x- and y-direction with a root-mean-square regression error of 1.67 mm and 0.0 mm, respectively. Even light contacts of a single Braille pin with a lifting force of 0.17 N are measured with high accuracy. Finally, we demonstrate the sensor's sensitivity to complex contact shapes by successfully reading the 26 letters of the Braille alphabet from a single display cell with a classification rate of 88%.