VBT-MPC: Vision-Based Tactile MPC for Contour Following
Abstract
Tactile sensing plays a key role in robotic manipulation, particularly in tasks like surface inspection. Successful execution requires maintaining contact while accurately tracking object contours. In this work, we propose a Vision-Based Tactile Model Predictive Control (VBT-MPC) framework for robotic contour following using a Vision-Based Tactile Sensor (VBTS) mounted in an eye-in-hand configuration. The proposed controller operates directly in contour features space, thereby avoiding the need for separate pose-estimation modules or complex force-control architectures. We further compare our VBT-MPC with visual-servoing strategies adapted to tactile features, and evaluate contour tracking on objects with diverse geometries and materials in both simulation and real-world experiments.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies
Innovations in Concrete and Construction Materials
Modular Robots and Swarm Intelligence
Publication details
- Journal / source
- IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters
- Publisher
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 8504–8511
- Publication date
- 29 May 2026