This synthetic skin could provide robots with ‘human-like’ sensitivity.

This synthetic skin could provide robots with ‘human-like’ sensitivity.

      Providing robots with a sense of touch

      While robots have made significant strides in visual, auditory, and movement capabilities, touch has remained an elusive element. At CES 2026, Ensuring Technology introduced a novel artificial skin that aims to give robots a level of sensitivity similar to humans, enabling them to perceive their environment rather than merely colliding with it.

      The company’s newest tactile sensing technology is designed to enhance robots' ability to detect pressure, texture, and contact, surpassing the functionality of basic touch sensors. Central to this announcement are two products named Tacta and HexSkin, both intended to address a persistent challenge in the field of robotics.

      Ensuring Technology's product range displayed at CES 2026

      Humans heavily depend on touch to grasp items, exert appropriate force, and quickly adjust when something slips. In contrast, robots typically function with limited feedback. Ensuring Technology aims to bridge this gap by mimicking the way human skin senses and interprets touch.

      Tacta, a multi-dimensional tactile sensor, is created for robotic hands and fingers. Each square centimeter contains 361 sensing elements, sampling data at a rate of 1000Hz, which the company claims provides sensitivity comparable to that of human touch. Despite its high density, the sensor measures just 4.5mm in thickness and integrates sensing, data processing, and edge computing within a single module.

      At CES, Ensuring demonstrated a fully covered robotic hand equipped with Tacta, featuring 1,956 sensing elements distributed across its fingers and palm, effectively establishing a comprehensive network of tactile perception.

      HexSkin goes a step further by extending touch capabilities to larger surfaces. Designed in a hexagonal, tile-like pattern, HexSkin is adaptable to complex curved shapes, making it ideal for humanoid robots.

      CES 2026 has been filled with robots that illustrate the rapid advancements in the field and underscore the importance of enhanced touch. Notable examples include LG’s CLOiD home robot, designed to assist with household tasks such as laundry and meal preparation, alongside humanoid robots capable of playing tennis with impressive coordination and Boston Dynamics' Atlas, which demonstrated advanced balance and mobility.

      Although these machines already excel in vision and movement, most still rely on visual input and rigid sensors. Incorporating a human-like sense of touch through artificial skin could be the key to making robots feel a bit more human.

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This synthetic skin could provide robots with ‘human-like’ sensitivity. This synthetic skin could provide robots with ‘human-like’ sensitivity. This synthetic skin could provide robots with ‘human-like’ sensitivity. This synthetic skin could provide robots with ‘human-like’ sensitivity. This synthetic skin could provide robots with ‘human-like’ sensitivity. This synthetic skin could provide robots with ‘human-like’ sensitivity. This synthetic skin could provide robots with ‘human-like’ sensitivity. This synthetic skin could provide robots with ‘human-like’ sensitivity.

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This synthetic skin could provide robots with ‘human-like’ sensitivity.

A novel artificial skin presented at CES 2026 has the potential to bestow robots with human-like sensitivity, enabling machines to better perceive pressure and texture, which would allow them to grasp objects, adjust their grip, and engage with people and surroundings in a more natural manner.