GelSight
Retrographic sensing for touch, texture and shape
For an introduction to GelSight, please watch our YouTube videos.
Overview
GelSight is a novel device that can be used as a 2.5D “scanner” for acquiring surface texture and shape. It consists of a slab of clear elastomer covered with a reflective skin. When an object presses on the skin, the skin distorts to take on the shape of the object’s surface. When viewed from behind (through the elastomer slab), the skin appears as a relief replica of the surface. The surface geometry of the object can then be estimated using photometric stereo techniques. There is no problem dealing with transparent or specular materials because the skin supplies its own BRDF. Complete information is recorded in a single frame; therefore we can record video of the changing deformation of the skin, and then generate an animation of the changing surface. The GelSight sensor has no moving parts (other than the elastomer slab), uses inexpensive materials, and can be made into a portable device that can be used “in the field” to record surface shape and texture.
This technology is patent pending.
More information
Demos
GelSight was presented at the following conferences:
- CVPR 2009, Miami Beach FL, June 20 – 25, 2009. Won a Best Demo award.
- SIGGRAPH 2009 Emerging Technologies, New Orleans, LA, August 3 – 7, 2009.
- ICCV 2009, Kyoto, Japan, September 29 – October 2, 2009.
Contributors
Portions of this work were supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0739255. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.