Vision-based tactile sensors have recently become popular due to their combination of low cost, very high spatial resolution, and ease of integration using widely available miniature cameras. The associated field of view and focal length, however, are difficult to package in a human-sized finger. In this paper we employ optical fiber bundles to achieve a form factor that, at 15 mm diameter, is smaller than an average human fingertip. The electronics and camera are also located remotely, further reducing package size. The sensor achieves a spatial resolution of 0.22 mm and a minimum force resolution 5 mN for normal and shear contact forces. With these attributes, the DIGIT Pinki sensor is suitable for applications such as robotic and teleoperated digital palpation. We demonstrate its utility for palpation of the prostate gland and show that it can achieve clinically relevant discrimination of prostate stiffness for phantom and ex vivo tissue.

翻译：基于视觉的触觉传感器近年来因其成本低廉、空间分辨率极高以及易于通过广泛使用的微型摄像头进行集成而受到青睐。然而，其对应的视场角和焦距难以封装在与人手指大小相当的尺寸中。本文采用光纤束实现了外径仅为15毫米的形态因子，该尺寸小于普通人指尖。电子元件和摄像头也置于远程位置，进一步减小了封装体积。该传感器在法向和剪切接触力下可实现0.22毫米的空间分辨率和5毫牛顿的最小力分辨率。凭借这些特性，DIGIT Pinki传感器适用于机器人及遥操作数字触诊等应用。我们演示了其在前列腺触诊中的实用性，并证明该传感器能够实现临床相关的前列腺硬度区分能力，可用于体模及离体组织样本。