Understanding Soft-Matter Stiffness: Key Challenges and Emerging Research Directions

Workshop Overview

Physical interaction is one of the most dependable and common methods for understanding the physical properties of soft objects. In the medical domain and Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS), the fundamental diagnosis technique known as palpation, was a staple in first line of examinations to identify stiff tissues and hard masses. Branching further into the agricultural field, assessing the stiffness of fruits allows farmers and machines to determine the quality of the produce and their readiness for consumption. Today, with rapid advancements in the field of soft robotics, soft haptics for teleoperation, agrifood systems, and industrial automation, there is growing interest in replicating this human ability to sense stiffness in robots. The stiffness perception of soft matter is essential for developing robotic systems that can interact safely, adaptively, and intelligently with soft objects in their environment. This workshop aims to unite researchers and practitioners from multiple disciplines to share insights on sensing the stiffness of soft matter and its significance in enabling safer robotic interactions. Furthermore, this workshop also aims to explore a psychophysical perspective for improving soft matter perception in robots. Through talks, discussions, and collaborative sessions, participants will explore the current state of stiffness sensing technologies, their practical applications, and the challenges that remain in understanding and modelling tactile perception.

Objectives:
• Distinguish between tactile sensing and stiffness sensing and understand how these concepts are interrelated.
• Explain how tactile sensing mechanisms can be applied to measure stiffness across different materials and environments.
• Understand how humans perceive stiffness through touch, and how these mechanical, psychological, and neurological mechanisms can inspire the design of robotic stiffness sensors.
• Examine diverse applications of stiffness sensing, including its use in medicine, agriculture, material identification, robotic manipulation, etc.
• Discuss the role of stiffness perception in enhancing human and robot performance in teleoperation, virtual training, simulation systems, etc.
• Integrate interdisciplinary perspectives to propose future directions for research in robotic perception and human-machine interaction.

Schedule (Tentative)

Sponsors

Contact Us

For inquiries, please contact Saitarun Nadipineni via s.nadipineni@qmul.ac.uk.