A portmanteau of tactile and pixel, representing the smallest individual unit of a touch sensor. When arrayed on a robotic fingertip or gripper, taxels map the distribution of force, texture, and slip when the robot grasps an object. High-density arrays allow robots to handle delicate or irregular items by providing feedback on exactly where and how hard the surface is making contact.
We're losing grip on the glass vials because the outer taxels aren't registering enough shear force.
A dense array sounds great on paper, but wiring and processing the data from hundreds of taxels in real time often creates a massive bottleneck for the control system.
Also heard as
- tactile element
- tactile pixel
Related terms
Fin gripper
A compliant robotic end effector that bends inward to wrap around objects when pressure is applied.
Underactuate
To design or control a mechanical system so that it has fewer independent motors or actuators than its total degrees of freedom.
Affordance
A physical property of an object or environment that suggests how a robot can interact with it.