Towards Multi-Modal Sensing for Space Robotic Manipulation: Exploring the GelSight Vision-Based Tactile Sensor

Robotic manipulation in space is crucial to reducing human risks and advancing space industrialization. Future In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM)
missions require autonomous robotic manipulation capabilities. Tactile sensing technology enhances robotic perception by creating meaningful representations of the environment, improving dexterity and precision, and enabling complex behaviors for on-orbit and planetary tasks such as object capture, sample collection and analysis, assembly, and inspection. This paper explores the use of tactile sensing technologies to support robotic manipulation taks in ISAM activities looking to address the challenges of the dynamic and uncertain space environment.