The proposed work will explore the feasibility of fabricating a tactile sensor entirely with optical materials such a sensor would be useful for robotic applications in harsh environments where electronic sensors could not survive. The initial work will be directed at the fabrication of a 3x3 sensor array, using sensors made of hirefringent material in the shape of a cube about 1mm on a side. Forces on the sensor are detected using polarized light and transmitted using fiber optic cable.
