Enhancing AI Research with Meta's Digit 360 Tactile Sensor

Published On Fri Nov 01 2024

Meta is making a robot hand that can 'feel' touch | TechCrunch

Meta has announced a partnership with sensor firm GelSight and Wonik Robotics, a South Korean robotics company, to develop tactile sensors for AI. These sensors are not intended for consumer use but rather for scientific research purposes. Meta envisions these sensors being used to enhance research into AI that can gather information about the world in greater detail and improve its understanding and modeling of the physical world.

GelSight and Meta are collaborating on the Digit 360, a tactile fingertip sensor with advanced sensing capabilities comparable to those of a human. This sensor, which is a successor to Meta’s Digit sensor, digitizes touch signals using an on-device AI chip and approximately 18 different sensing features to detect changes in the environment.

DIGIT Tactile Sensor for Robotics and Machine Learning

According to Meta, the Digit 360 features a touch-perception-specific optical system with a wide field of view to capture deformations on the fingertip surface from all directions. The sensor is equipped with multiple sensing modalities to perceive various aspects of touch interactions, including vibrations, heat, and even odors.

Availability and Early Access

The Digit 360 sensor is scheduled to be available for purchase next year. Meta has also announced a call for proposals, allowing researchers to submit proposals for early access to the sensor.

Meta's collaboration with Wonik Robotics will focus on enhancing Wonik's Allegro Hand, a robotic hand equipped with tactile sensors similar to the Digit 360. This project will build on Meta's platform for integrating sensors on a single robot hand, enabling the Allegro Hand to feature control boards that transmit data from the tactile sensors to a host computer. The enhanced Allegro Hand is expected to be available next year.