ITRI TODAY Fall issue 2018

Tactile Sensing Technology Lets Robots Feel

A robot can speak, see, and move, so why can’t it feel? This is the question Dr. Camus Su, Chairman & CSO of Mechavision, would like to resolve and it was also the motif that started his attempt to develop artificial tactile sense for robots eight years ago.

“What we are doing is to enable robots to ‘grow skin’, develop the sense of deformation, and ‘feel’ physical touch,” said Dr. Su. His company Mechavision, founded this year, is an ITRI spinoff that provides tactile sensing technology solutions for robotic applications. Its Contact Skin, for instance, is ideal for use in human-robot collaboration scenarios due to its high sensitivity, safety, and compatibility. A robot equipped with Mechavision’s Contact Skin is able to stop immediately whenever the operator comes in contact with it, and thus ensures the safety of human workers in the collaborative workspace. Unlike conventional optical sensing solutions, Mechavision’s tactile sensing technology can detect very subtle force and is blind-spot-free. The technology complies with the ISO/TS 15066 standard, which specifies safety requirements for collaborative industrial robots.

So what on earth is the robotic tactile sensing technology developed for? Dr. Su sees its great potential for a wide range of future applications. He took speech and image technologies as examples. The invention of the microphone and phonograph in the 19^th century initiated an evolution of speech technologies—from audio frequency analysis to voice recognition and semantic analysis—and finally made virtual assistants and smart speakers available. So is the history of image recognition that enables machines to process optical signals as human beings do and applies CMOS to today’s facial identification. Therefore, robotic tactile sensing, in his view, will also lay a good foundation for versatile technological advancements and find fresh possibilities in its use in the course of development.

The goal of Mechavision is to provide comprehensive robotic tactile sensing solutions, including tactile sensors, signal processing and analysis, and more. The Finger Teaching module, for example, shows that Mechavision’s tactile sensing technology extends its features to interactive function, providing an intuitive interface for robot manipulator teaching and allowing operators to guide a robot’s motion by direct touch and movement.

While many forms of applications may emerge from robotic tactile sensing technology, Mechavision currently aims to meet the urgent demand for industrial robots in the manufacturing industry. As many countries, including Taiwan, have been actively promoting smart machinery and seen the advantages of human-robot collaboration, new related safety regulations are made, and here come the opportunities for Mechavision.

According to Dr. Su, Mechavision will continue to enhance technology collaboration with leading robot suppliers in Germany and Japan, taking advantage of their strengths in safety and efficiency in tactile sensing robots. The company will also deliver its products to Asian buyers, tapping into the huge labor assembly market.

With his great passion and imagination about robots, Dr. Su believes that robots can make everything possible and can be designed to be a great helper that does things that people do not want to do. Dr. Su said he was lucky being at ITRI because its cross-disciplinary talent and resource pool has helped him find working partners that share common goals, and more importantly, deliver his years of R&D efforts from the lab to the real market. During the process of building a startup, ITRI also provided support needed in fund raising and talent recruitment.

Seizing the megatrend of developing tactile perception of robots, Dr. Su expects Mechavision to become a world-leading solution provider of robotic tactile sensing technology. The road to success is never easy. As a fan of the Japanese animation Saint Seiya, he believes what is said in the cartoon series: Be passionate, and the power of your “inner cosmos” will give you strength to overcome all obstacles.