LumiTac preprint demonstrates compact sensor measuring forces and twisting loads

Researchers present LumiTac, a tactile sensor that reconstructs three force and three moment components, in a robotics preprint. Its sensing head measures 12 mm in diameter and 4.75 mm in thickness, weighs less than 2 g and has a component cost of approximately USD 7. The camera-free design measures how loads change light passing through translucent silicone between circuit boards. A neural network converts 20 optical channels into load measurements. Online prediction averaged 303.57 Hz, with median software processing latency of 0.722 ms. Tests reported mean absolute force errors of 0.054-0.190 N. Robotic demonstrations covered tactile-guided manipulation and physical human-robot interaction; the findings remain preprint results.