New Chip for Robots Conveys 'Sense of Touch' to Human Operators

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New chip for robots conveys 'sense of touch' to human operators:

A Japanese startup is taking a major step toward commercializing real haptics technology that can replicate the exact feel and texture of objects, opening up new remote opportunities in health care, construction, manufacturing and other fields.

Motion Lib, launched out of Japan's Keio University, will enter a partnership with Tata Consultancy Services as early as this month to develop an advanced haptics feedback system that can be used in a variety of industries.

They aim to launch the system globally as early as 2024. TCS will also work on cloud infrastructure to store data of different tasks and movements that the system can carry out.

TCS has a market capitalization of around 12 trillion rupees ($153 billion), more than IBM, operating in 46 countries and working with over 2,000 startups. It partners with over 500 researchers worldwide, including at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and has the connections to introduce new technology to major corporations.

Conventional haptics systems cannot replicate small differences in resistance, making handling delicate items a challenge. Real haptics technology, first put into practical use by Keio University project professor Kohei Onishi, can simulate minute tactile sensations, allowing users to pick up balloons and potato chips via a robotic arm without damaging them, or figure out how hard they can squeeze a cake before crushing it, for example.

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