DIGIT: A Low-Cost Compact High-Resolution Tactile Sensor with Application to In-Hand Manipulation
Mike Lambeta, Po-Wei Chou, Stephen Tian, Brian Yang, Benjamin Maloon, Victoria Rose Most, Dougal Sutherland, Alexander Melnikov, Ellen K. Li, Zhenyu Jing, Huazhe Xu, Kuang-Huei Lee, Tingfan Wu, Yuanyuan Li, Jonathan Tremblay, Stan Birchfield, Freddy Mwinyi, Karan Khare, Rene Holladay, Bill Wen, Yunhao Ba, Roberto Calandra · Meta AI / New York University · 2020
Framework
ROS / Python
License
MIT
Stars
650
Summary
An affordable, compact, high-resolution vision-based tactile sensor optimized for in-hand manipulation with real-time fingertip deformation sensing.
Abstract Summary
Key Points
- Compact 15-mm vision-based tactile sensor with sub-millimeter deformation imaging.
- Parts cost ~$25; assembled from off-the-shelf camera, gel, 3D-printed housing.
- Captures 640×480 at >60 Hz; tested for slip detection and grasp stability.
- Open-source hardware, firmware, and driver widely adopted in manipulation labs.
- Enables direct tactile-pixel training for dexterous manipulation policies.
Additional Notes
Setup Tips
- Use translucent soft silicone with 1:10 curing ratio for consistent gel elasticity.
- Keep lens and gel surface clean of dust; any speckle pattern is treated as tactile signal.
- USB3 camera connection is preferred over USB2 to maintain high frame rate at full resolution.
Related Papers
- GelSight (Yuan et al., 2017)
- OmniTact (Padmanabha et al., 2020)
- Tactile Dexterity with DIGIT (Bhirangi et al., 2022)
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