Abstract: A pump inpeller and a method for its manufacture wherein the impeller is made of two different synthetic plastics using a co-injection molding process. One plastic, used to fabricate a core section of the impeller, is a rigid thermoplastic material. The other plastic, used to fabricate the vanes section, is a thermoplastic elastomer. The latter is injected after the rigid thermoplastic material.

Abstract: A tactile sensor for sensing an object in contact therewith. In its preferred form, the sensor comprises a plurality of layers disposed in a sandwich arrangement. A top layer is comprised of a flexible, electrically-insulating material and a plurality of parallel flexible conductive rods. A bottom layer is comprised of an electrically-insulating material and a plurality of parallel conductive rods that extend at right angles to the conductive rods of the top layer, thus forming a sensory array comprising a plurality of superimposed intersection points arranged in a grid pattern. An intermediate layer is comprised of a resilient, electrically-insulating material in which is disposed a plurality of parallel conductive posts that extend perpendicular to the plane of the three layers. These posts are comprised of a resilient conducting material.