Marker Intelligence: Redefining Vision-Based Tactile Sensor Performance through Structured Marker Design

Marker Intelligence: Redefining Vision-Based Tactile Sensor Performance through Structured Marker Design | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Marker Intelligence: Redefining Vision-Based Tactile Sensor Performance through Structured Marker Design Tonghui Tang, Thrishantha Nanayakkara This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6314387/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Tactile perception is fundamental to manipulation and intelligent sensing, yet the impact of marker design in vision-based tactile sensors(VTS) remains largely unexplored. Conventional approaches rely on tracking randomly distributed markers with arbitrary shapes, assuming displacement alone suffices to characterize sensor deformation. However, this ignores the potential of structured marker configurations to improve sensor performance. We introduced Marker Intelligence, a new paradigm that transforms optical markers from passive tracking tools into active intelligent sensing components. By structuring markers to align with natural deformation patterns, Marker Intelligence improves force prediction and classification accuracy. We developed a framework integrating PCA, Hu moments, and RSS fitting to quantify marker performance. Our results showed that circular markers consistently outperformed other shapes, achieving higher accuracy with newly introduced concentric ring design, surpassing the Gelsight benchmark. These findings establish Marker Intelligence as a foundational principle in VTS field, advancing sensor optimization and perception. Physical sciences/Engineering/Mechanical engineering Physical sciences/Engineering/Electrical and electronic engineering Vision-based tactile sensor Embodied Intelligence Force prediction Marker intelligence Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6314387","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":434788854,"identity":"4443482a-4ae8-471e-9bf3-7e492ad5390f","order_by":0,"name":"Tonghui Tang","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABDElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYJACZgYGCTDjQIKBjRyY8QCPch6oFpAexgMfKtKMIXoJawFbw3xwxplDiQ0gYXxa7Nl7D78ubLOo45/dfuEwb9uB9Plhhx8CbbGT023AYQvPuTTrmW0SEhJ3zhQAtdzJ3Xg7zQCoJdnY7AAOLRI5Zsa8QC0MN3ISgFqe5W6cnQDSciBxGyEt8hAth9MNZ6d/IKTF+DFIi8GN9ANA7x9OkJfOIWDLmTNmzDznJCQ33shhAAWy4QbpnAJgBOH2C3t7j/FnnrI6frkb6Y8/AKNSXn52+uYPHyrs5HBpAQI2CaiFBmDKAKzSAKdyEGD+ALXwAZiSb8CrehSMglEwCkYgAAAU5maWfQqeEAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Imperial College London","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tonghui","middleName":"","lastName":"Tang","suffix":""},{"id":434788855,"identity":"6016c193-2a9b-4c09-89e5-ce45a8cf5184","order_by":1,"name":"Thrishantha Nanayakkara","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1882-1232","institution":"Imperial College London","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Thrishantha","middleName":"","lastName":"Nanayakkara","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-03-26 17:05:29","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6314387/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6314387/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":80306234,"identity":"3810f25e-d3a3-41d1-8737-7a9b30093042","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-10 10:19:00","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":75389689,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Article File","description":"","filename":"MarkerIntelligenceRedefiningVisionBasedTactileSensorPerformancethroughStr.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6314387/v1_covered_1cc25edc-deea-488a-97be-d0330e6033f8.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"Marker Intelligence: Redefining Vision-Based Tactile Sensor Performance through Structured Marker Design","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Vision-based tactile sensor, Embodied Intelligence, Force prediction, Marker intelligence","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6314387/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6314387/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Tactile perception is fundamental to manipulation and intelligent sensing, yet the impact of marker design in vision-based tactile sensors(VTS) remains largely unexplored. 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