These engineers have just humanized robots by giving them a sense of touch

© Image generated by AI DALL-E for Presse-Citron

The robotics race has accelerated greatly in recent years, and more and more companies and institutions are advancing the sector by leaps and bounds. Figure and its multitasking humanoid robot, Tesla and its Optimus prototype (with a few errors all the same), Boston Dynamics with its acrobat Atlas and even Apple is starting to take an interest.

This time, the innovation comes from the corridors of Duke University (North Carolina, USA). Engineers have developed a four-fingered robotic hand equipped with tactile microphones, which they will present at the Conference on Robot Learning in Munich. Equipped in this way, this hand can perceive its environment in the same way as a human being.

From vision to touch

The majority of modern robotic solutions rely essentially on vision for machines to understand their environment. SonicSense transcends this limitation by equipping robots with sophisticated tactile perception. Each finger of this robotic hand integrates a contact microphone that captures the vibrations generated during physical interactions. This technology naturally filters out ambient noise, allowing a precise analysis of the acoustic signals emitted by the objects being manipulated.

« We wanted to create a solution that could work with complex and varied objects encountered in everyday life, giving robots a much richer ability to “feel” and understand the world ,” explains Jiaxun Liu, co-author of this study and a doctoral student in mechanical engineering who participated in the project.

The SonicSense system, in addition to these microphones, also integrates the latest advances in artificial intelligence to transform this vibration data into concrete information about the nature and structure of the objects.

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New sensory capabilities

The versatility of SonicSense completely pushes the boundaries of current robotic capabilities. By shaking a box of dice, the system precisely determines their number and shape. Vibration analysis allows it allows the liquid level in a closed container to be assessed. Even more remarkable, by simply tapping, the robotic hand reconstructs the three-dimensional structure of objects and identifies their constituent materials, including on reflective or transparent surfaces. !

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This feat requires only four interactions for the objects listed in its database, while twenty are enough to characterize an object it has never seen. Boyuan Chen, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Duke, points out: “SonicSense gives robots a new way to hear and feel, just like humans do, which can transform how they perceive and interact with objects. While vision is essential, sound adds layers of information that can reveal what the eye might miss ».

A promising and accessible technology

The Duke team is taking a pragmatic approach. By using standard contact microphones, similar to those found on electric guitars, and off-the-shelf or 3D-printed components, the cost of production is kept low. The entire system can be built for just $200.

This affordability will necessarily facilitate its deployment in various industrial settings and the researchers are currently refining object-tracking algorithms to keep the hand effective in cluttered environments. The team is also working on integrating pressure and temperature sensors to further enrich the system's sensory capabilities.

Chen already foresees a great future for it: ” This is just the beginning. SonicSense could be integrated into more advanced robotic hands with precise manipulation skills, allowing robots to perform tasks requiring a refined sense of touch. We look forward to exploring how this technology can be further developed […] enabling even more complex interactions ».

The potential for SonicSense is immense: automotive or pharmaceutical industries, high-precision quality inspection or assembly, handling of fragile materials, surgery, etc. If the team continues to improve, it could even be possible for robots equipped with their technology to develop a form of tactile intelligence that could help them collaborate more closely with humans. A dream for some, a nightmare for others.

• Duke University has developed a robotic hand equipped with microphones that allows it to sense its environment through touch.
• SonicSense uses vibrations to analyze objects, reconstruct their structure and identify their materials
• This inexpensive technology could be applied to many industrial sectors.

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