1. A method of determining surface topography of an object, the method comprising: receiving a first set of moment and force input data from one or more identified topographies; using a function approximator to receive a training data set based on the first set of moment and force input data from the one or more identified topographies, wherein parameters to be used by the function approximator are modified via an evolutionary algorithm that tests vectors of candidate parameters; and receiving a second set of moment and force input data from an object surface and using the second set of data to provide a surface mapping of the object, wherein the surface mapping comprises a spatial compliance map of the surface, wherein each contact point in the mapping is to be associated with a compliance value represented as a rate of surface compression with respect to a change in contact force.