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The Robot Report · September 12, 2026

Ultrasound offers a scalable path to tactile intelligence for physical AI

Biomedical EngineeringRoboticsMaterials Science
THE AI ANGLE
Enabling physical AI manipulation through tactile intelligence

UltraSense is deploying subsurface ultrasound tactile sensing to overcome the mechanical wear, drift, and delamination challenges typical of surface-coupled electronic skins on robotic grippers. By transmitting acoustic waves through protective outer materials like elastomers or polymers, the architecture extracts multi-parameter data including high-resolution force mapping, shear, slip, and acoustic impedance for material classification. This provides a durable, manufacturable hardware foundation for physical AI systems requiring long-term tactile reliability in real-world manipulation.

THE TEACHING ANGLE
Students can examine the engineering tradeoff between embedding active electronic sensors directly in the mechanical contact path versus using subsurface acoustic interrogation to decouple surface tribology from sensor longevity.

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