First system that gives super balance to robots

The idea breaks decades of limitation.

In the laboratories of Carnegie Mellon University, something was created to redefine what balance means for a machine, the team presented LocoTouch, a tactile sensing system capable of transforming quadruped robots into surprisingly skilled loaders.

Until now, these thefts depended on rigid boxes or fixed compartments to transport objects, nothing that rolled, nothing that moved, nothing that escaped the perfect geometry, this LocoTouch changes everything by replacing physical barriers with perception.

Instead of slots or supports, the team installed a high-density sensitive matrix on the back of the robot. A piezo-resistive film is pressed between conductive textile electrodes. When an object moves and deforms the film, the electrical resistance changes exactly at the point where the electrodes intersect.

These variations form a continuous tactile map that reveals instant by instant where the load is trying to move. With that flow of data, the robot adjusts posture like discreetly tilting a tray to prevent a cup from falling.

Apply this system to the entire body of robots.

The team trained the system in simulation using more than 4,000 digital twins of the robot to expose it to disturbances, virtual stumbles and possible oscillations, all before touching the real prototype.

Already in the physical world, in laboratory tests, Unitree Go1, equipped with LocoTouch carried cylinders and various objects for more than 60 meters, avoiding cones, climbing obstacles and maintaining balance even when someone deliberately pushed the load during the walk.

A clear demonstration that the robot stops being just a static transporter and begins to respond to the environment with reflexes closer to what is expected of a human assistant. The team sees this result as the first application of touch sensors on a quadruped, a milestone that may usher in a new generation of robotic assistants.

The ambition now is to expand sensorization to the robot's entire body, allowing it to perceive the environment with the same tactile richness as we do.