TouchDrive: Electronics-Free Tactile Sensing Interface for Assistive Grasping

2026-05-07

AI Summary

This work proposes a fully mechanical pneumatic tactile perception interface that overcomes the complexity, high cost, and limited applicability of existing assistive grasping systems reliant on electronic sensing and multi-stage processing. By integrating normally closed pneumatic valves, compressed air reservoirs, force-sensing elements, and tactile actuators into a single passive loop, the system directly transduces contact forces into tactile feedback—establishing, for the first time, a tactile closed loop without any electronic components. Validated across multiple robotic platforms, the design reliably grasps 20 diverse everyday objects, including fragile items such as fruits and vegetables. This approach substantially simplifies system architecture while enhancing robustness and practicality in resource-constrained environments.

Abstract

Assistive robotic grasping plays an important role in enabling safe and adaptive manipulation of diverse objects. However, existing systems often rely on electronic sensing and multi-stage processing pipelines, increasing system complexity and reducing accessibility. To address these limitations, we present TouchDrive, a cost-effective, electronics-free tactile sensing interface for assistive grasping. TouchDrive directly converts contact forces into pneumatic feedback through valve-mediated switching, integrating sensing, signal generation, and feedback within a single passive mechanical loop. The system can be employed using a pneumatic normally closed valve, a compressed air tank, sensing element, and haptic feedback actuator without electronics. By delivering tactile cues, TouchDrive empowers users to modulate grasp forces, enabling precise and robust delicate manipulation of compliant and fragile objects. The interface has been validated across diverse robotic platforms, consistently demonstrating reliable performance and practical applicability in assistive grasping tasks, such as handling fruits and everyday items (up to 20 objects).

Problem

• assistive grasping
• tactile sensing
• electronics-free
• system complexity
• accessibility

Innovation

• electronics-free
• tactile sensing
• pneumatic feedback
• assistive grasping
• passive mechanical system