Ultrasound sensing could give robots durable touch without wear

UltraSense argues that ultrasound-based tactile sensing can withstand repeated contact better than surface-mounted electronic skins. The company says sub-surface ultrasound avoids the wear, drift, and recalibration issues that plague exposed sensors in high-cycle robotic hands. This approach aims to make tactile perception practical for commercial robots operating over millions of contact cycles.

The article contrasts surface-mounted electronic skins with sub-surface ultrasound. Traditional approaches—capacitive, piezoresistive, piezoelectric, triboelectric, and impedance-based—place sensing layers in the mechanical load path, exposing them to compression, abrasion, contamination, humidity, and temperature swings. Over millions of contact cycles, these conditions can produce drift, hysteresis, delamination, and recurring recalibration needs.

UltraSense's alternative positions the sensing element beneath the outer surface, which remains optimized for friction, compliance, and sealing. The company argues that lifetime signal integrity—not visible wear—determines whether a tactile system stays viable for commercial deployment. The article notes that newer impedance-based sensors capture richer data than binary contact or single force values, but still face the same surface-exposure challenge.