Deep Visuo-Tactile Learning: Estimation of Tactile Properties from Images

Understand

Estimation of tactile properties from vision, such as slipperiness or roughness, is important to effectively interact with the environment.

• These tactile properties help us decide which actions we should choose and how to perform them.
• E.g., we can drive slower if we see that we have bad traction or grasp tighter if an item looks slippery.
• We believe that this ability also helps robots to enhance their understanding of the environment, and thus enables them to tailor their actions to the situation at hand.