# Tactile Robotics: An Outlook

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.11261 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.11261/

## Key facts

- Cited by 7 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 15 Aug 2025.

## Built on by (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [TaF-VLA: Tactile-Force Alignment in Vision-Language-Action Models for Force-aware Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.20321/) (2026)
- [MILE: A Mechanically Isomorphic Hand Exoskeleton and Visuotactile Robotic Hand for Data Collection in Dexterous Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.00324/) (2025)
- [Seeing Touch from Motion: A Unified Modality-Aware Visuo-Tactile Policy with Tactile Motion Correlation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.29941/) (2026)
- [HapTile: A Haptic-Informed Vision-Tactile-Language-Action Dataset for Contact-Rich Imitation Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.04825/) (2026)
- [Physically Grounded 3D Generative Reconstruction under Hand Occlusion using Proprioception and Multi-Contact Touch](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.09100/) (2026)
- [Towards Trustworthy Embodied Intelligence: A Systems Framework and Graded Trustworthiness Levels](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.26121/) (2026)
- [BIDETA: Brain-Inspired Data-Efficient Tactile Adaptation for Unseen Sensors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.08673/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Robotics research has long sought to give robots the ability to perceive the physical world through touch in an analogous manner to many biological systems. Developing such tactile capabilities is important for numerous emerging applications that require robots to co-exist and interact closely with humans. Consequently, there has been growing interest in tactile sensing, leading to the development of various technologies, including piezoresistive and piezoelectric sensors, capacitive sensors, magnetic sensors, and optical tactile sensors. These diverse approaches utilise different transduction methods and materials to equip robots with distributed sensing capabilities, enabling more effective physical interactions. These advances have been supported in recent years by simulation tools that generate large-scale tactile datasets to support sensor designs and algorithms to interpret and improve the utility of tactile data. The integration of tactile sensing with other modalities, such as vision, as well as with action strategies for active tactile perception highlights the growing scope of this field. To further the transformative progress in tactile robotics, a holistic approach is essential. In this outlook article, we examine several challenges associated with the current state of the art in tactile robotics and explore potential solutions to inspire innovations across multiple domains, including manufacturing, healthcare, recycling and agriculture.