Robotic sensing
Robot sensing includes the ability to see,[1][2][3] touch,[4][5][6] hear[7] and move[8][9][10] and associated algorithms to process and make use of environmental feedback and sensory data.
[12][13] The broad class of materials often contain sensing abilities that are intended to reproduce the capabilities of human skin to respond to environmental factors such as changes in heat and pressure.
[16] The successful combination of flexible and stretchable mechanical properties with sensors and the ability to self-heal would open the door to many possible applications including soft robotics, prosthetics, artificial intelligence and health monitoring.
[26][27] As robots and prosthetic limbs become more complex the need for sensors capable of detecting touch with high tactile acuity becomes more and more necessary.
[28] These sensors can be placed meaningfully throughout the surface of a prosthetic or a robot to give it the ability to sense touch in similar, if not better, ways than the human counterpart.
Previous solutions employed the Wiener filter, which relies on the prior knowledge of signal statistics that are assumed to be stationary.
[5] The Consistency Index[5] is applied at the end to evaluate the level of confidence of the system to prevent inconsistent reactions.
[7] These passive devices use the piezoelectric effect to transform force to voltage, so that the vibration that is causing the internal noise could be eliminated.
Current voice activity detection (VAD) system uses the complex spectrum circle centroid (CSCC) method and a maximum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) beamformer.
An emerging application in modern engineering, it involves the use of robots or other automated systems to analyze air-borne chemicals.
As per the IUPAC technical report, an “electronic tongue” as analytical instrument including an array of non-selective chemical sensors with partial specificity to different solution components and an appropriate pattern recognition instrument, capable to recognize quantitative and qualitative compositions of simple and complex solutions[39][40] Chemical compounds responsible for taste are detected by human taste receptors.
However, at the molecular scale, nano-robots lack such guidance system because individual molecules cannot store complex motions and programs.
Currently, a molecular spider that has one streptavidin molecule as an inert body and three catalytic legs is able to start, follow, turn and stop when came across different DNA origami.
[8] In a TSI operation, which is an effective way to identify tumors and potentially cancer by measuring the distributed pressure at the sensor's contacting surface, excessive force may inflict a damage and have the chance of destroying the tissue.
The application of robotic control to determine the ideal path of operation can reduce the maximum forces by 35% and gain a 50% increase in accuracy[9] compared to human doctors.
[10] In complicated geometries and settings, a square sensing area is more efficient and can achieve better competitiveness regardless of the metric and of the starting point.
