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Tactile and Chemical Senses

Tactile and Chemical Senses

Tactile senses encompass touch, temperature, and pain, each mediated by specific receptors. Touch receptors detect mechanical energy or pressure against the skin. Sensory fibers from these receptors enter the spinal cord and relay information to the brain stem. Here, most fibers cross over to the opposite side of the brain. The touch information then moves to the thalamus, which projects a map of the body's surface onto the somatosensory areas of the parietal lobes in the cerebral cortex.

Somatosensation

Somatosensation

The somatosensory system relays sensory information from the skin, mucous membranes, limbs, and joints. Somatosensation is more familiarly known as the sense of touch. A typical somatosensory pathway includes three types of long neurons: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary neurons have cell bodies located near the spinal cord in groups of neurons called dorsal root ganglia. The sensory neurons of ganglia innervate designated areas of skin called dermatomes.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 20, 2025

A Tactile Automated Passive-Finger Stimulator TAPS

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Published on: June 3, 2009

Active Perception in Non-Visual Recognition Environments by Stretchable Tentacle Sensor Arrays.

Yamei Yue^1,2, Yuan Tang³, Qi Wang⁴

¹State Key Laboratory of Material Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, Hubei, P. R. China.

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

|June 6, 2022

Summary

Researchers developed stretchable tentacle sensors inspired by nature to perceive objects in non-visual conditions like smoke or fog. These tactile sensors actively probe surroundings, enabling object recognition where vision fails.

Keywords:

active perception feature analysis model magnetoelectric non-visual recognition stretchable tentacle sensor

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Last Updated: Sep 20, 2025

A Tactile Automated Passive-Finger Stimulator TAPS

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Measurement of Vibration Detection Threshold and Tactile Spatial Acuity in Human Subjects

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Published on: September 1, 2016

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Published on: July 30, 2020

Area of Science:

Robotics and Sensor Technology
Bio-inspired Engineering
Artificial Perception

Background:

Visual recognition is limited in environments with obstructions like smoke or fog.
Tactile perception is crucial for navigation and communication in certain animals (e.g., burrowing, deep-sea).
Existing tactile sensors are often passive and lack active exploration capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop active, stretchable tactile sensors for object recognition in non-visual environments.
To mimic natural tactile sensing strategies for technological applications.
To establish a link between tactile sensing and feature analysis for complex object identification.

Main Methods:

Fabrication of stretchable tentacle sensor arrays with retractable magnetic tops and elastomer-based copper coil bottoms.
Active stretching of sensors using a syringe pump to generate distinct electrical signals upon contact.
Analysis of sensor signals using a feature analysis model to interpret object morphology.
Testing in non-visual conditions such as smoke and fog environments.

Main Results:

Demonstrated successful object recognition in smoke and fog using the developed tentacle sensor arrays.
Showcased active probing capabilities of the sensors, differentiating them from passive tactile sensors.
Confirmed the ability to extract complex morphological information of irregular objects.
Established a correlation between stretchable tactile sensing and effective feature analysis.

Conclusions:

Stretchable tentacle sensors offer a viable solution for active perception in non-visual conditions.
Bio-inspired tactile sensing combined with feature analysis can overcome visual limitations.
The technology holds significant potential for applications requiring robust object recognition in obstructed environments.