Meta has announced that it is working with sensor manufacturer GelSight and Wonik Robotics, a Korean robotics company, to commercialize touch sensors with the goal of advancing artificial intelligence and “digitizing the sense of touch.”
Meta says the touch sensors will be used to train AI models so they can “learn deeper details about the world” and “better understand and model the physical environment.”
Meta
The social networking giant will manufacture and supply the Digit 360 touch sensor in collaboration with GelSight. Meta describes the product as “a tactile fingertip with humanoid recognition.” The Digit 360, which is the next generation of the Digit Meta sensor, generates digital touch signals through an in-device AI chip and “18 sensory features.”
“We have developed a special tactile sensing optical system with a wide field of view to capture omnidirectional changes in the fingertip surface,” Meta explained in a blog post. We also equipped the sensor with different sensory modes, as each tactile interaction with the environment produces a unique profile created by the mechanical, geometric, and chemical properties of the surface to sense vibrations, perceive heat, and even detect odors. “
Meta
Digit 360 will be available next year. Meta has invited universities and research centers interested in using the touch sensor to accelerate “open source development”. These sensors will be available for free to researchers to use in their research projects.
Meta’s collaboration with Wonik will focus on the next-generation Allegro robotic hand, which uses Digit 360 touch sensors. Thanks to the finger-shaped form factor developed by Meta and GelSight for placing tactile sensors in the robotic hand, Allegro will be able to store sensor data in real-time to the host computer as it interacts with the environment. This robotic hand will be available next year.
