Magnetostrictive tactile sensor array for force and stiffness detection

•Developed a magnetostrictive tactile sensor demonstrating a measurement range of 3 N and an average sensitivity of 126 mV/N.•Fabricated a magnetostrictive tactile sensor array capable of measuring stiffness from monolithic and composite samples.•Experimentally validated the new magnetostrictive tactile sensors on a commercial robotic hand.•Derived an analytical and a finite element model guiding future magnetostrictive tactile sensor development.