DenseTact-Mini: An Optical Tactile Sensor for Grasping Multi-Scale Objects From Flat Surfaces

Understand

Dexterous manipulation, especially of small daily objects, continues to pose complex challenges in robotics.

• This paper introduces the DenseTact-Mini, an optical tactile sensor with a soft, rounded, smooth gel surface and compact design equipped with a synthetic fingernail.
• We propose three distinct grasping strategies: tap grasping using adhesion forces such as electrostatic and van der Waals, fingernail grasping leveraging rolling/sliding contact between the object and fingernail, and fingertip grasping with two soft fingertips.
• Through comprehensive evaluations, the DenseTact-Mini demonstrates a lifting success rate exceeding 90.2% when grasping various objects, spanning items from 1mm basil seeds and small paperclips to items nearly 15mm.