‘It’s certainly a worthwhile achievement’: NASA said about Sensobright Industries LLC’s tactile sensing technology

“Our technology can be used wherever a touch needs to be sensed. We are currently focused on robotics, automotive and medical instruments.”

Robots can think faster and have sharper eyes (cameras), sharper ears (microphones) and enhanced nose and tongue (spectrometers) compared to humans, but they still cannot reach the abilities of a human being. Simply put, human-level tactile sensing is missing in robots. To address this, Sensobright Industries LLC came up with relevant technology and gave the fifth sense to robots over human ability. The Sensobright tactile sensors are beyond human resolution and sensitivity.

Sensobright Industries specializes in the development of sensory solutions used in industrial settings and research laboratories. It owns over 100 International patents in the tactile sensor field. The company teamed up with Inventram and KOC HOLDING (A Global Fortune 500 Company) to ramp up commercialization and develop tactile sensor technologies.

Sensobright Industries was founded in 2018.

The Silicon Review reached out to Prof. Dr. Utku BUYUKSAHIN, President and CTO of Sensobright Industries LLC, and here’s what he had to say.

Interview Highlights

Q. What can you tell us about the tactile sensors Sensobright develops? What are their key features?

Our first product, Fingertip Tactile Sensor, has better spatial resolution than the human fingertip where the previous technology could only provide one-tenth of it. We can place thousands of receptors per square centimeter (up to two million in theory). Currently, we are manufacturing fingertip tactile sensors with 400 receptors providing spatial resolution as low as 0.3 mm. Please keep in mind that the human fingertip sense touch through 241 nerve endings per square centimeter, providing 1 mm spatial resolution. In addition to spatial resolution, our tactile sensors can sense forces smaller than 0.1 gram (0.001 N), where this threshold is 1 gram for a human fingertip. One of our patented technologies’ most important feature is its multi-multi-touch capability, meaning that all receptors are measured individually and simultaneously. A robotics application with one million tactile receptors (Yes, we can put one million receptors into a robot with our technology) requires acquiring one million inputs, which was impossible with former technologies.  Our patented technology can deliver million-level data simultaneously by only using a single USB cable. This is of crucial importance in terms of lowering the costs for end-users.

Besides the great resolution in the X/Y axes, the sensor can feel the shape of the object in the Z axis. In addition to the three axes touch and temperature sensing, our system can sense surroundings without touching, can show high-resolution videos and does not interfere with magnetic fields.

Our second product, Magic Silicone, is a thin and dark-colored silicone pad designed to measure/quantify touch and convert it to digital data. It can be manufactured in any uniform or non-uniform shape. It is essentially a touch surface that provides data when pressure is applied to it.

Magic silicone can be located directly underneath any given flexible surface to convert this arbitrary surface into a touch/control surface. It can have a small measurement surface such as one square centimeter or a bigger measurement surface such as a table.

Magic silicone can function under heavy working conditions, including high temperature (even at automotive grade), high humidity, high magnetic interference and vibration. This novel and patented measurement technology is immune to the most common sensor noises. For instance, magic silicone can sense the touch even if the measurement surface is wet and the user is wearing thick gloves (i.e. snow or industrial gloves).

Q. How does Sensobright create and sustain a culture of innovation?

When the first patent was granted, NASA sent an e-mail about their interest in our tactile sensing technology. In the following months, NASA’s engineers said, “it is certainly a worthwhile achievement” in a report about our technology. It was the first patent of the innovation. We have now over 100 international patents for tactile sensing technology. I think it wouldn’t be wrong to say that innovation has been a culture for Sensobright.

Q. Tell us about the Sensobright team. What value do they bring to the company?

The Sensobright team is formed of 10 members with three PhDs, one MBA and six BSs degrees. All steps from engineering to manufacturing are accomplished in-house using company assets. Sensobright Industries also has several professors, who have highly decorated academic backgrounds, and engineers, specifically experienced in tactile sensors, image processing, optics, and embedded systems.

As we teamed up with Inventram and KOC HOLDING, we also have a great team of advisors (board of advisory) from Inventram, KOC HOLDING and other world-leading technology companies.

Q. What new endeavours is Sensobright undertaking?

We gave robots tactile sensors exceeding human ability and converted the regular leather armrest of the car to be used as the control surface of the car. Now, we are working on giving the tactile and temperature sensing ability to laparoscopic surgery devices, which can detect Cancerous Tissues through laparoscopic surgery as well as internal bleeding with the help of our sensors powered by AI software.

Q. How do you see Sensobright changing in five years, and how do you see yourself creating that change?

The growing trend of miniaturization in sensors is one of the major factors driving the sensor market and our technology is the most miniaturized tactile sensor in the market. Sensobright’s technologies have always been the first in their field. With the new inventions in our focus markets, I believe we will have new technologies that we don’t even think about today. If you keep watching Sensobright, you will be the first to know the future of tactile sensors.

Q. Is there anything you would like to add before we wrap up?

Thank you for this great interview, hopefully, readers will enjoy it as much as we did.

Our technology can be used wherever a touch needs to be sensed. We are currently focused on robotics, automotive and medical instruments. All stages of R&D, experimenting and manufacturing tasks are accomplished under scientific methods and supervision.

Moreover, by having the first and only product out-performing human resolution, we have a game-changer technology in a vast market and we hold the patents of one of the five human senses.

Prof. Dr. Utku BUYUKSAHIN | President  & CTO

Prof. Dr. Utku BUYUKSAHIN is an extraordinary scientist and a decorated engineer who owns B.S. M.Sc. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and B.S. in business administration. Prof. Dr. Buyuksahin has more than 160 international patents, including the USA, EPO (Europe) and Japan patents. His expertise lies in but is not limited to robotics, sensors, image processing, motion control, and neuromodulation. In 2019, he has been selected as one of the top 25 scientists across the globe by the Falling Walls Foundation, which has the President of The Nobel Foundation among its board members. He is also a professional illustrator, instrument player and composer.

“By having the first and only product out-performing human resolution, we have a game-changer technology in a vast market and we hold the patents of one of the five human senses.”