image: The top image is a snapshot of the contact between the fingerprinted cap and a smooth glass slide in steady sliding. Wells between the elastomer's ridges appear bright and the red solid line circle defines the border of the contact. Actual contact only occurs on the ridges summits. Ridges are slightly deformed around the contact due to interfacial friction. The bottom image is used in comparison to display the contact between a human fingertip and a smooth glass surface with P; 0.5N (a typical value in tactile exploration). In both images, the white bar is 2mm long. This image accompanied the report, "The Role of Fingerprints in the Coding of Tactile Information Probed with a Biomimetic Sensor," by Dr. Scheibert et. al. appearing in the Jan. 30, 2009, issue of Science. view more
Credit: Image copyright <i>Science</i>-AAAS