FlexiTac: A Low-Cost, Open-Source, Scalable Tactile Sensing Solution for Robotic Systems
2026-04-30 • Robotics
RoboticsArtificial IntelligenceMachine Learning
AI summaryⓘ
The authors created FlexiTac, an affordable and easy-to-make touch sensor system for robot hands. It includes flexible sensor pads that detect touch and a small board that reads and sends the data quickly for real-time use. The sensors are made with layers that improve how easily and consistently they are built while still fitting on different robot fingers. FlexiTac works with various robot setups and supports advanced methods to teach robots using touch combined with vision. This makes it practical for researchers to collect and use tactile information in different robotic tasks.
Piezoresistive tactile sensorRobotic end-effectorFlexible printed circuit (FPC)VelostatReal-time controlTactile learning3D visuo-tactile fusionCross-embodiment skill transferSerial communicationTactile simulation
Authors
Binghao Huang, Yunzhu Li
Abstract
We present FlexiTac, a low-cost, open-source, and scalable piezoresistive tactile sensing solution designed for robotic end-effectors. FlexiTac is a practical "plug-in" module consisting of (i) thin, flexible tactile sensor pads that provide dense tactile signals and (ii) a compact multi-channel readout board that streams synchronized measurements for real-time control and large-scale data collection. FlexiTac pads adopt a sealed three-layer laminate stack (FPC-Velostat-FPC) with electrode patterns directly integrated into flexible printed circuits, substantially improving fabrication throughput and repeatability while maintaining mechanical compliance for deployment on both rigid and soft grippers. The readout electronics use widely available, low-cost components and stream tactile signals to a host computer at 100 Hz via serial communication. Across multiple configurations, including fingertip pads and larger tactile mats, FlexiTac can be mounted on diverse platforms without major mechanical redesign. We further show that FlexiTac supports modern tactile learning pipelines, including 3D visuo-tactile fusion for contact-aware decision making, cross-embodiment skill transfer, and real-to-sim-to-real fine-tuning with GPU-parallel tactile simulation. Our project page is available at https://flexitac.github.io/.