Robots to be given tactile ‘skin’ and dexterous hands

A startup working on tactile robotic “skin”, allowing machines to feel objects rather than relying on vision, is among nine projects that received £23.3m in government funding to solve the problem of robot dexterity.

- Victoria Turk

Advances in computer vision have allowed robots to “see”, and companies such as Boston Dynamics have manufactured bipedal machines capable of walking, climbing stairs and doing parkour. But robots have critical limitations, particularly with dexterity - their ability to touch, pick up and manipulate objects.