HKUST Introduces Advanced Tactile Perception Technology for Robots
- Published
- Source
- leaderobot.com
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed a novel robotic arm architecture called EmArm, which integrates soft optical tactile skin into a rigid mechanical framework. This innovation allows robots to achieve human-like tactile perception, enabling them to respond intuitively to touch and navigate obstacles without visual input.
This advancement is significant as it addresses the limitations of traditional robots that rely heavily on visual systems and sparse joint torque sensors, which often fail in blind spots. EmArm's tactile skin covers over 71,000 square millimeters and provides high spatial resolution, allowing for precise detection of touch and pressure, surpassing human tactile acuity in some aspects.
Looking ahead, the research team aims to enhance EmArm's capabilities by implementing a closed-loop perception-action framework. This will enable the robot to make adaptive decisions based on real-time tactile feedback, marking a crucial step towards creating robots that can interact more naturally and effectively in dynamic environments. No further timeline was disclosed at the time of publication.
Original report
HKUST Develops Human-Like Tactile Perception for Robots
leaderobot.com · LeaderobotThis briefing is an independently written summary based on publicly available reporting and is provided for industry information and news discovery. The original report and source publication are credited and linked where applicable. RobotToday does not claim ownership of third-party source material.
Rights concerns? Contact [email protected] with the relevant URL and details. We will review the matter and take appropriate action where warranted.
More related news
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
-
12
RobotToday Weekly October 12 – 16, 2026 RobotToday · 6 days ago
Related Suppliers
FieldBee
Netherlands
Dutch agri-tech brand of eFarmer B.V., founded 2014, selling PowerSteer RTK autosteer kits and base stations to 6,000+ farmers in 60+ countries.
Centrale Nantes
France
Centrale Nantes is a French engineering school founded in 1919 that coordinates the EMARO and JEMARO robotics masters and co-runs the LS2N lab.
Ocado Technology
United Kingdom
UK-based technology arm of Ocado Group, developing the Ocado Smart Platform — a grid-based automated warehouse fulfillment system using hundreds of.
China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) 中国空间技术研究院
China
Beijing spacecraft prime contractor founded in 1968; builds Chang'e lunar landers and rovers, crewed station modules and space robotic arms.
Ras Labs, Inc.
United States
Quincy, MA company developing Synthetic Muscle electroactive polymer actuators for robotics, prosthetics, and protective gear.
Kinetix AI 超维动力
China
Shenzhen embodied-AI startup building ultra-human-like humanoid robots powered by a physical world model for whole-body control.
The University of Hong Kong (HKU)
Hong Kong
University of Hong Kong, established 1911, a research university with AI, biomedical engineering, and autonomous systems research tied to robotics.
Belfingroup
Russian Federation
Russian industrial robot system integrator with 30+ years and 500+ completed robotization projects across the EAEU.
Apex Sensing LLC
United States
Apex Sensing develops flexible tactile sensors and electronic skin for humanoid robots, plus industrial inspection, medical and battery sensing.
Tactile Robots
Italy
Italian robotics startup founded in 2016 in Lecce, building GUIDO, a pressure-sensitive autonomous indoor delivery robot for commercial spaces.
Brighter Signals
Netherlands
Amsterdam startup making fabric-based multi-modal tactile sensors; partnered with Shanghai-listed Tier-1 CAIP in 2025 to manufacture them at scale.
MoSense 模感科技
Hong Kong
MoSense is a Hong Kong tactile-sensing startup, incubated from an HKUST robotics team, building flexible electronic skin and the MOPENARM robotic arm.
Robotics needs a service framework.
RSF defines a common language for robot service capability, lifecycle operations, certification pathways, and service-provider networks.
Join the RobotToday community on LinkedIn
Daily robotics news, in-depth analysis, conference highlights, and discussions with professionals worldwide.
