Two opposing fingers (30, 32) of a robot hand are each provided with an array (36, 40) of optical devices in optical communication with one another across the gap between the fingers. One finger is provided with an array of light emitters (31e) and the other is provided with an array of light receptors (31r), each of the light emitters being coupled, on a one-to-one basis, with each of the light receptors. An object (29) between the fingers blocks light transmission between different ones of the emitter-receptor pairs, whereby various information about the object, e.g., its shape, position and/or movement, can be detected.
ROBOTIC SYSTEMS UTILIZING OPTICAL SENSING