Tactile Robotics: An Outlook

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Luo, Shan, Lepora, Nathan F., Yuan, Wenzhen, Althoefer, Kaspar, Cheng, Gordon, Dahiya, Ravinder
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Luo, Shan
Lepora, Nathan F.
Yuan, Wenzhen
Althoefer, Kaspar
Cheng, Gordon
Dahiya, Ravinder
author_facet Luo, Shan
Lepora, Nathan F.
Yuan, Wenzhen
Althoefer, Kaspar
Cheng, Gordon
Dahiya, Ravinder
contents Robotics research has long sought to give robots the ability to perceive the physical world through touch in an analogous manner to many biological systems. Developing such tactile capabilities is important for numerous emerging applications that require robots to co-exist and interact closely with humans. Consequently, there has been growing interest in tactile sensing, leading to the development of various technologies, including piezoresistive and piezoelectric sensors, capacitive sensors, magnetic sensors, and optical tactile sensors. These diverse approaches utilise different transduction methods and materials to equip robots with distributed sensing capabilities, enabling more effective physical interactions. These advances have been supported in recent years by simulation tools that generate large-scale tactile datasets to support sensor designs and algorithms to interpret and improve the utility of tactile data. The integration of tactile sensing with other modalities, such as vision, as well as with action strategies for active tactile perception highlights the growing scope of this field. To further the transformative progress in tactile robotics, a holistic approach is essential. In this outlook article, we examine several challenges associated with the current state of the art in tactile robotics and explore potential solutions to inspire innovations across multiple domains, including manufacturing, healthcare, recycling and agriculture.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_11261
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Tactile Robotics: An Outlook
Luo, Shan
Lepora, Nathan F.
Yuan, Wenzhen
Althoefer, Kaspar
Cheng, Gordon
Dahiya, Ravinder
Robotics
Robotics research has long sought to give robots the ability to perceive the physical world through touch in an analogous manner to many biological systems. Developing such tactile capabilities is important for numerous emerging applications that require robots to co-exist and interact closely with humans. Consequently, there has been growing interest in tactile sensing, leading to the development of various technologies, including piezoresistive and piezoelectric sensors, capacitive sensors, magnetic sensors, and optical tactile sensors. These diverse approaches utilise different transduction methods and materials to equip robots with distributed sensing capabilities, enabling more effective physical interactions. These advances have been supported in recent years by simulation tools that generate large-scale tactile datasets to support sensor designs and algorithms to interpret and improve the utility of tactile data. The integration of tactile sensing with other modalities, such as vision, as well as with action strategies for active tactile perception highlights the growing scope of this field. To further the transformative progress in tactile robotics, a holistic approach is essential. In this outlook article, we examine several challenges associated with the current state of the art in tactile robotics and explore potential solutions to inspire innovations across multiple domains, including manufacturing, healthcare, recycling and agriculture.
title Tactile Robotics: An Outlook
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.11261