# Enhance Vision-based Tactile Sensors via Dynamic Illumination and Image Fusion

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.00017 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.00017/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 8 of its 21 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 27 Mar 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 8 of 8)

- [DIGIT: A Novel Design for a Low-Cost Compact High-Resolution Tactile Sensor with Application to In-Hand Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.14679/) (2020)
- [General In-Hand Object Rotation with Vision and Touch](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.09979/) (2023)
- [The Feeling of Success: Does Touch Sensing Help Predict Grasp Outcomes?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1710.05512/) (2017)
- [GelSight Wedge: Measuring High-Resolution 3D Contact Geometry with a Compact Robot Finger](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.08851/) (2021)
- [Digitizing Touch with an Artificial Multimodal Fingertip](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.02479/) (2024)
- [A soft thumb-sized vision-based sensor with accurate all-round force perception](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.05934/) (2021)
- [DenseTact 2.0: Optical Tactile Sensor for Shape and Force Reconstruction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.10122/) (2022)
- [AllSight: A Low-Cost and High-Resolution Round Tactile Sensor with Zero-Shot Learning Capability](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.02928/) (2023)

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

- [Calibration-Free Surface Normals Estimation in Vision-Based Tactile Sensing using Universal Photometric Stereo](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.31754/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Vision-based tactile sensors use structured light to measure deformation in their elastomeric interface. Until now, vision-based tactile sensors such as DIGIT and GelSight have been using a single, static pattern of structured light tuned to the specific form factor of the sensor. In this work, we investigate the effectiveness of dynamic illumination patterns, in conjunction with image fusion techniques, to improve the quality of sensing of vision-based tactile sensors. Specifically, we propose to capture multiple measurements, each with a different illumination pattern, and then fuse them together to obtain a single, higher-quality measurement. Experimental results demonstrate that this type of dynamic illumination yields significant improvements in image contrast, sharpness, and background difference. This discovery opens the possibility of retroactively improving the sensing quality of existing vision-based tactile sensors with a simple software update, and for new hardware designs capable of fully exploiting dynamic illumination.