Patent ID: 7658119

Claim:
A biomimetic tactile sensor for providing an electrical indication of contact comprising: a substantially rigid inner core having an outer surface and a plurality of electrodes on and distributed across at least a portion of the outer surface; a deformable layer surrounding the electrodes and at least a substantial portion of the substantially-rigid inner core, the deformable layer having an inner and an outer surface; texturing on the inner surface of the deformable layer positioned substantially opposed to at least one of the electrodes on the outer surface of the substantially-rigid inner core; a volume of deformable material enclosed between the core and the deformable layer inner surface made of a volume-conductive liquid; and a detection system configured to detect changes in the electrical resistance of the volume-conductive liquid between at least some of the electrodes on the outer surface of the substantially-rigid inner core caused by force exerted on the deformable layer outer surface, wherein the texturing is configured such that it causes the electrical resistance at the opposing electrode to continue to increase in response to continued increases in the contact force that is applied to the outer surface of the deformable layer after the contact force reaches a level that causes the deformable layer to come in contact with the opposing electrode.