[Editor's Note] Robots can achieve tactile sensations with higher resolution than human hands by integrating various sensors such as pressure, temperature, acceleration, and sound. In particular, these diverse sensors are being presented as foundational technologies to expand the use of robots across industries, including manufacturing, data centers, healthcare, and hazardous environments. We heard from Analog Devices (ADI) about the importance of multimodal tactile sensors, a core technology required for robots to handle objects as delicately as humans.


Humanoid robots have long stimulated our imagination as icons of science fiction and have evolved into actual prototypes with the hope that they will transform industries and improve daily life.

To make this possibility a reality, a breakthrough that robotics has not yet achieved—namely, the ability to manipulate objects in the physical world with human-level precision—is required.

To realize truly sophisticated dexterity, sensing technology capable of capturing even the subtle physical characteristics of the real world, such as softness, texture, fragility, and positional feedback, is essential.

At the center of this task is a tactile sensor.

Tactile sensors are a key technology that can transform a robot's hand, which was previously merely a moving mechanical tool, into an adaptive, multifunctional, and intelligent end-device capable of performing various tasks in real-world environments.

In addition, high-resolution tactile sensing is an important element for AI learning and is expected to serve as the foundation for realizing the sophisticated manipulation capabilities and autonomy of next-generation robots.

■ Robots must be able to feel the world, going beyond simply seeing it.

○ Vision and touch

Until now, robot object manipulation technology has developed primarily by relying on vision systems.

Vision technology is effective for robots to perceive their surroundings and identify objects, but processing visual data requires significant computational power and computing resources.

such Vision-based systems demonstrate excellent performance in various tasks, but they may have limitations when the objects the robot needs to interact with are very small, change shape, or are obscured from its line of sight.

To overcome these limitations , Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) is developing a multimodal tactile sensing prototype that provides new physical information during the operation process.

This technology combines tactile information with existing visual information, enabling robots to understand their surroundings more accurately and perform more sophisticated manipulation capabilities.


○ Multimodal tactile sensing

While conventional robot hands have relied on force and torque sensors, human touch provides much richer information when interacting with objects.

To reproduce this complexity in a robot, multimodal tactile sensing is required, which means the fusion of various sensory modalities integrated into the fingertips and palms.

To implement such modalities, various technologies are required, including the following sensors.

eight: 64px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 20px; float: left; padding-right: 20px;" />▶Pressure and Force Sensor
It detects grip strength, resistance exhibited by the object during handling, and shear distribution.

▶Temperature sensor
It identifies thermal properties and plays an important role when handling temperature-sensitive materials.

▶ Microphone
It captures acoustic signals and vibrations to detect surface textures or audible events such as the clicking sound that occurs when a connector is connected.

▶ Accelerometer
It detects slippage, material properties, and unexpected fingertip movements by measuring acceleration vectors in three-dimensional space. />
Such multimodal data must be collected at high frequencies to implement fast response times.

This generates a vast data stream, and AI algorithms are required to fuse this data and interpret situational context.

Any tactile sensor can detect changes in force, but it is the role of AI to understand what those changes mean.

For example, instead of simply reporting that the force has changed, the AI can infer that the glass is sliding and immediately adjust the grip strength.

To develop sophisticated robotic hands, sensor manufacturing technology capable of scalability to an industrial scale is essential.

ADI is developing a scalable tactile sensor prototype and is achieving up to five times higher resolution than a human fingertip.

These various sensing modalities are representative examples of sensor fusion, focusing on the implementation of a top-tier tactile sensor system for application in the hands of humanoid robots.

■ Design Challenges for Integrating Multiple Modalities

Integrating multiple sensors into a fingertip-sized module can be considered an achievement of engineering.

Since the complexity of the system increases with each added modality, the following factors must be considered.

▶ Size
Sensor, signal conditioning circuit, and connection interfaceSince all of them must be able to fit inside the fingertips, miniaturization is key.

▶ Bandwidth
High-resolution multimodal sensors generate a vast amount of data.

Sufficient bandwidth ensures that these tactile data are reliably transmitted from the fingertips to the computing device inside the hand without bottlenecks or data loss.

▶ Delay time
Robots must process sensor data and perform actions as fast as human reflexes to avoid breaking or dropping fragile objects.

Low latency is very important for converting sensitive tactile information into real-time physical responses.

▶Repetitiveness
To maintain high data quality, signal drift over time and deviations between hardware must be minimized. does. Consistent sensor performance ensures stable operation and reliable data collection across the robot swarm.

▶Durability
Sensors must be durable enough to ensure a predictable number of usage cycles through sufficient reliability, so as to minimize frequent or unexpected replacements.

■ Impact across the industry
▶ Automobile manufacturing
Robots can weld car bodies, but the tasks of connecting, arranging, and installing complex wiring during the vehicle assembly process are still the responsibility of human workers.

If a tactilely sensitive robot hand is implemented, these processes can be automated, which can alleviate labor shortages and improve production efficiency.


▶ Data Center
Data centers require tens of thousands of repetitive wiring connections.

To maintain these connections, robot arms and robot hands must be able to work while passing through complexly intertwined wiring.

Tactile sensors enable the robot hand to move flexibly along complex wiring paths, helping it reach desired locations to accurately position cables and perform tasks such as inserting or removing them. />
▶Work in hazardous environments
From nuclear power plants to chemical plants, robots equipped with tactile sensing capabilities can perform dangerous tasks, thereby reducing safety risks for workers.


▶ Medical field
Tactile sensing robots can help medical staff focus more on patient care by transporting medicines within medical facilities such as hospitals.

In addition, it is expected that these robots will be able to perform surgical tasks requiring unprecedented levels of precision by utilizing tactile feedback in the future.

This can help reduce the workload of medical staff and allow them to dedicate more time to patient care.

▶ Consumer Electronics Applications
Assistive robots can support daily activities such as meal assistance and dressing, particularly for users who require careful care, such as the elderly.

■ Solving customer needs with expertise

Connecting the physical and digital worlds is ADI's strongest core competency.

Deep expertise in the signal chain helps ensure clean and reliable analog-to-digital conversion (ADC), which is essential for interpreting multimodal sensor data.

Miniaturization technology is also a strength of ADI, featuring fingertip-sized modules that integrate multiple sensing modalities without performance degradation.is implementing

Sensors built on this hardware foundation feature an AI-native architecture.

Domain expertise is directly embedded in the system through a pretrained model that has learned a deep understanding of physical interactions and complex sensing modalities.

Furthermore, by developing complete end-to-end demos for key features such as real-time anti-slip, ADI provides a clear and feasible path for customers to easily integrate the sensor system and develop their own sophisticated intelligent robots.


■ Challenges and Opportunities

Today, the industrial sector faces broader questions beyond technical challenges.

Currently, there is no universal standard for humanoid robot hands. While this promotes innovation, it also becomes a factor that complicates interoperability.

While locomotion is assessed to be largely resolved, it is expected that it will take a considerable amount of time to perfect the sophisticated hand manipulation skills required to perform various tasks.

Until robots can autonomously perform various tasks, their introduction will also be gradual.

Despite these challenges, market momentum is growing.

Industry leaders are jumping into the race to commercialize humanoid robots, and at the center of this, robotic hands are emerging as one of the most strategically important components.

High-performance robotic hands equipped with physical intelligence will be a key factor in differentiating next-generation machines.

■ The Future That Touch Will Create

Tactile sensors go beyond a simple technological milestone.

This is a gateway to a future where robots improve human lives through care, safety, and precision.

Physical intelligence will enable robots to understand physical context, adapt in real time, and act as trusted collaborators in homes, hospitals, factories, and hazardous environments.

This forms the basis of next-generation robotics that expands human capabilities by seeing, speaking, touching, and interacting with the world. Current research is in the early stages of R&D, and ADI is further advancing it by working closely with leading customers to continuously improve and validate the technology.

More detailed information about ADI's innovations and latest developments can be found on the ADI Physical Intelligence website .

In addition, if you would like to take a deeper look into the new era of industrial robots, you can refer to the EngineerZone blog series .