J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2026, Vol. 260: 241-252.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2025.10.021

• Research Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Deep learning-assisted tactile sensing platform for efficient object classification and password recognition

Liu Shun, Yue Xiaoyan, Liu Si, Yang Wenke, Liu Hu*, Liu Chuntai, Shen Changyu   

  1. State Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis, Optimization and CAE Software for Industrial Equipment; National Engineering Research Center for Advanced Polymer Processing Technology, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
  • Received:2025-07-08 Revised:2025-09-11 Accepted:2025-10-16 Published:2026-07-20 Online:2025-10-24
  • Contact: *E-mail address: liuhu@zzu.edu.cn (H. Liu)

Abstract: Conventional tactile sensing platforms face persistent challenges in interpreting complex spatiotemporal tactile signals. Herein, we report a next-generation tactile system combining a mechanically adaptive pressure sensor array with a deep learning-based multimodal neural network. The pressure sensor is designed and fabricated by constructing a silver nanoparticles (AgNPs)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) dual-conductive network on a compressible porous melamine foam (MF) via dip-coating and in-situ reduction. It exhibits tunable sensitivity (0.025 to 0.277 kPa-1) within a pressure range of 0-52.28 kPa, fast response (120 ms), and high durability with < 3 % signal fluctuations after 3000 cycles. Importantly, the platform features a dual intelligent decoding architecture: (1) a CNN-based spatial analyzer achieves 98.52 % classification accuracy for six object types, surpassing conventional thresholding methods; (2) a Bi-RNN temporal decoder enables 100 % authentication accuracy in haptic sequence-based password recognition. Unlike human haptic cognition which requires multisensory integration, our system leverages machine learning for efficient interpretation of tactile information. This work paves the way for advanced human-machine interfaces in assistive robotics and virtual reality, particularly enhancing tactile learning for visually impaired users.

Key words: Tactile sensing platform, Pressure sensor, Deep learning, Intelligent recognition