New ShadowSense technology—detects and identifies human touch using a camera. This
The new development arose as an idea to createtow robots that could guide people to safety during an emergency. Such a robot must be able to communicate with people in extreme conditions.
Installation of a large number of contact sensorswould have added weight to the robot, so the developers solved the problem differently. They measured the intensity and type of tactile contact using a camera: it can analyze how a person touches the robot and what their intentions are.
The robot prototype consists of nylon skin,stretched around a cylindrical skeleton. Under the robot's skin there is a USB camera that connects to a laptop. The researchers developed a neural network algorithm that uses previously recorded training data to distinguish between six palm touch gestures: punching, two-handed touching, hugging, pointing, and no touching.
As a result, the robot will determine the type of interaction with an accuracy of 87.5 to 96%, depending on the lighting.
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