Fiber Optic Sensors in Tactile Sensing: A Review

Tactile is an important source of information for people to explore the external environment. In the past few decades, researchers have paid special attention to tactile sensors and have made good practical applications in fields such as robotics. The widely proposed tactile sensors are mostly electromagnetic types, inevitably affected by electromagnetic interference. Fiber optic tactile sensors are considered a possible solution to the problem. Related research has attracted increasing attention in recent years. This article reviews the progress of research on fiber optic tactile sensing technology in recent years, including those based on fiber Bragg gratings, micro-/nanofibers (MNFs), fiber specklegram patterns, and Fabry-Perot interferometers (FPIs). In addition, the advantages, disadvantages, and application prospects of each type of sensor were analyzed. Finally, we summarized the research status and challenges of fiber optic tactile sensors and provided some clues for future work.