US 12,332,046 B2
Fluid tactile sensors
Janos Rohaly, Concord, MA (US); Micah Kimo Johnson, Nashua, NH (US); Youssef Benmokhtar Benabdellah, Boston, MA (US); and Jay William Anseth, Canton, MA (US)
Assigned to GelSight, Inc., Waltham, MA (US)
Filed by GelSight, Inc., Waltham, MA (US)
Filed on Feb. 18, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/111,556.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/311,568, filed on Feb. 18, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2023/0266120 A1, Aug. 24, 2023
Int. Cl. G01B 13/16 (2006.01); G01B 11/30 (2006.01); H04N 23/56 (2023.01)
CPC G01B 11/303 (2013.01) [G01B 13/16 (2013.01); H04N 23/56 (2023.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system comprising:
a fluid tactile sensor including:
a substrate, the substrate formed of a rigid material and the substrate including a window of optically transparent material,
a membrane, the membrane formed of a flexible, elastic sheet of a material, and the membrane having a surface, wherein the membrane is an opaque, reflective membrane with a predetermined reflectance suitable for supporting topographical imaging of the membrane independent of optical properties of a target surface,
a reservoir having a volume contained at least in part within the substrate and the membrane, and
an imaging medium within the reservoir, the imaging medium including an optically transparent fluid; and
an imaging system including:
an illumination source directed through the window of the substrate toward the surface of the membrane when the membrane is positioned for use within an imaging volume of the imaging system, and
an imaging device positioned to capture images of the surface of the membrane through the window of the substrate when the membrane is placed for use within the imaging volume of the imaging system.