Stiffness sensing and palpation are essential for understanding object properties, including tissue health and fruit ripeness. Currently, there is limited research on using soft-tipped sensors for stiffness sensing and dynamic palpation. To address these challenges, we investigate how the pressure-modulated optical tracking (PMOT) sensor can use compliance control to quantify tissue stiffness and detect margins in samples through dynamic palpation. Results show that the PMOT sensor modulus of elasticity sensing range is from 4.20 to 177.62 kPa. Across all the untrained samples, elasticity was measured with a root-mean-square error of 7.72%. Furthermore, it is shown that the sensor can locate margins between 13.4-kPa and embedded 29.3-kPa materials during palpation. When mounted on a linear rail, averaged for the direction of travel, the sensor's signal-to-noise ratio was up to 39.5:1. Participants used the sensor to locate embedded margins in a teleoperation environment with visual feedback. This was achieved with an accuracy of 96.5%.

中文翻译：

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具有柔顺控制功能的软头传感器，用于弹性传感和触诊

硬度传感和触诊对于了解物体特性（包括组织健康和水果成熟度）至关重要。目前，使用软头传感器进行刚度传感和动态触诊的研究有限。为了应对这些挑战，我们研究了压力调制光学跟踪 (PMOT) 传感器如何使用顺应性控制来量化组织刚度并通过动态触诊检测样本中的边缘。结果表明，PMOT传感器的弹性模量传感范围为4.20~177.62 kPa。在所有未经训练的样本中，测量弹性的均方根误差为 7.72%。此外，研究表明，传感器可以在触诊过程中定位 13.4 kPa 和嵌入的 29.3 kPa 材料之间的边缘。当安装在线性导轨上时，对行进方向进行平均，传感器的信噪比高达 39.5:1。参与者使用传感器在远程操作环境中通过视觉反馈来定位嵌入式边缘。准确率达到 96.5%。