<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To specify a position, a direction and a shape of an object to which a robot hand is touched using a particle filter. <P>SOLUTION: The method for identifying the position, the direction and the shape of the object to which the robot hand 20 is touched uses the particle filter. The method defines a suitable motion model and a measurement value model. The motion model characterizes the motion when the robot hand 20 is moved relative to the object. The measurement value model estimates possibility of observation of the hand/object state given by a contact position, a speed and tactile sensor information. The measurement model is analytically approximated based on a geometrical model or collection training data. In either case, the measurement value model distribution is coded as Gaussian distribution or is coded using radial basis function. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT 
CONTACT STATE ESTIMATION FOR MULTI-FINGER ROBOT HAND USING PARTICLE FILTER