Innovative optical tactile sensor for robotic system by gold nanocomposite material

In this work we propose a new class of optical pressure sensors suitable for robot tactile sensing. The sensors are based on a tapered optical fiber, where optical signals travel, embedded into a PDMS-gold nanocomposite material. By applying different pressure forces onto the PDMS-based nanocomposite we measure in real time the change of the optical transmittivity due to the coupling between the gold nanocomposite material and the tapered fiber region. The intensity reduction of the transmitted light intensity is correlated with the pressure force magnitude.