Getting a robot to pick up an egg without crushing it turns out to be one of the field's hardest problems.

Machines that can beat grandmasters still struggle to fold a towel.

The gap between digital intelligence and physical dexterity remains vast.

The trouble with touch

New sensors and learning methods are, slowly, closing it.

"The last frontier of AI is not thinking. It is touching."

Analysts point to a handful of forces driving the story forward:

  • High-resolution tactile sensors
  • Learning from trial and error
  • A long path to reliability

A robot that can truly handle the physical world would change everything.