30 Fastest Growing Private Companies to Watch 2023

Prof. Dr. Utku BUYUKSAHIN, Sensobright Industries LLC Founder and CEO: “By having the first and the only product over human tactile sensing resolution, we have a game changer technology in a huge market and We Hold the Patents of One of Five Human Senses”

The Silicon Review

A tactile sensor is a device. In reaction to the physical interaction with the surroundings, it analyzes the data that is flowing in. The sense of touch in humans is generally modeled by the cutaneous and kinesthetic senses. Cutaneous touch has the ability to recognize sensations brought on by warmth, pressure, and manual stimulation. The receptors found inside muscles, tendons, and joints provide sensor inputs for kinesthetic touch. Globally, there are various companies innovating in the tactile sensor space, but Sensobright Industries LLC stands out from the rest. Prof. Dr. Utku Buyuksahin, Founder and CEO of Sensobright Industries, applied for the first international patent in 2012, increasing the number of patents to 22 in just 3 years, with a PhD dissertation on the company’s technology completed the same year. As of February 2023, the number of granted patents has reached 144. Sensobright LLC was founded in 2018 and quickly grew through enthusiastic investor interest

By 2020, the company’s R&D and machine shop in the US were fully operational with advanced manufacturing capabilities, including fiber optic cable setting machinery. Up until now, Sensobright has been supported by governmental institutions, universities, and technology companies, and it has received an investment of nearly ten million dollars from KOC Holding, which is one of the Global Fortune 500 companies. Sensobright has received two rounds of investment from the same investor, which shows that they are happy about its achievements. Sensobright proudly states, “We Hold the Patents of One of Five Human Senses,” as the company filled the gap in tactile sensing in robots. Currently, the team at Sensobright is conducting R&D and manufacturing in its new 10,000 square-foot factory, working on expanding the company’s product offerings.

It is an undeniable fact that the visual, auditory, and chemical sensing capabilities of machines have long surpassed those of human eyes, ears, noses, and tongues in terms of sensory abilities. Whether it is speed, accuracy, magnification, spectrum, separation, or any other parameter, it is possible to find a commercially available sensor superior to human ability in any of those areas suited to one’s requirements. The only area where human senses remain unchallenged is touch sensitivity, which was unchallenged until Sensobright came along in 2018. Sensobright set out on a mission to change the status quo. The company’s main motto is to be able to equip any machine with touch sensing capabilities far beyond human ability, breaking the last barrier of human sensory superiority over machines.

Currently, Sensobright is focusing on developing products for specific applications in the robotics/automation, automotive/smart furniture, and medical instruments industries. The company’s automotive and smart furniture applications can be seamlessly integrated under existing upholstery, providing an input surface without changing the look and feel of soft surfaces. On the robotics and automation front, Sensobright has proven solutions to give machines feedback and automated features based on a sense of touch superior to human ability. Finally, the company’s crown jewel, laparoscopic surgical clamps that can aid surgeons in identifying cancer tissue as if they were touching it themselves, is now available to the medical industry.

Sensobright has a game-changing technology in a huge market that has propelled it to the top because it has the first and only product over human tactile sensing resolution.

Technologies that power Sensobright

Currently, Sensobright is manufacturing its Fingertip Tactile Sensor (FTS) at the size of a fingertip with 317 receptors per square centimeter (vs. an average of 241 nerve endings per square centimeter in human fingertips). In addition to its spatial resolution, Sensobright’s tactile sensor can sense forces smaller than 0.1 grams, where the sensitivity threshold is 1 gram at our fingertips. One of the company’s most important patented technologies is its multi-touch capability, meaning that all receptors are recorded individually and simultaneously.

The FTS can also map the shape of touching objects in three dimensions, which is achieved through high-density placement of high-sensitivity receptors paired with the simultaneous multi-touch feature. In addition to the revolutionary touch sensing capabilities summarized above, FTS can sense temperature and even the proximity of objects. FTS can also display high-resolution videos and does not interfere with magnetic fields. One of Sensobright’s 100+ internationally patented technologies, the Magic Silicone Sensor (MSS), is a thin and dark-colored silicone pad designed to digitally quantify the size and intensity of any incoming contact. It is essentially a non-energized touch surface that provides quantities of pressure data when pressure is applied to it. As such, MSS can count, track, follow multiple objects in contact, and even provide gesture controls through touch.

MSS can be manufactured in sizes as small as one square centimeter up to the size of a dining table, flat or curved, uniform or otherwise. Unlike energized touch surfaces that work with resistive or capacitive principles, MSS can also be integrated under any flexible material to convert any soft surface into a multi-touch control smart surface. MSS can operate under extreme environmental conditions such as high temperature (even at automotive grade), high humidity, high magnetic interference, and vibrations because there is no energized surface exposed to the working environment. With the fully customizable size and shape, environmental resilience, and integration flexibility of MSS, possible applications are virtually endless.

Patented success path

Sensobright’s patented technologies (144 granted international patents as of today and counting) are what set it apart from anything else available in the market today. Only due to its patented technologies is Sensobright not only able to implement tactile receptors on FTS in the millions but also to transmit the data from millions of receptors over a single USB cable. This is critical in terms of lowering end-user costs and has never been done before with any technology prior to Sensobright. The company relies on the miniaturization capabilities of a high-density receptor array to implement this technology at the tip of laparoscopic surgery tools.

Additionally, Sensobright’s novel technology makes MSS immune to most common sensor noises, which enables MMS to even sense contact through thick industrial gloves on a wet surface, for example, giving the company the edge in the robotics, automation, and smart furniture industries through environmental resilience. Raised from the ground up on innovative patents from the beginning, Sensobright’s mission has always been to innovate further to transform its novel technologies into real-world solutions for a wide variety of industries.

Getting onboard right talents

Sensobright is very proud of its team’s technical qualifications, with 3 out of 4 engineers having PhDs, and the team having a combined working experience of over 170 years. As a professor at universities for a very long time, Prof. Dr. Utku had the chance to meet many students with great engineering potential. Sensobright’s team is mostly formed of his former BS, MA, or PhD students.

Anyone with enough financial resources can put together a great team, yet few realize that the challenge is to keep them together and work in synergy to achieve greatness. This requires the team to be driven and committed to the company’s success in unison, which can only happen when the team develops a firm conviction to the company’s mission on both an individual and collective level.

Keeping such highly skilled people together and working in harmony does not happen without a solid culture of innovation. First and foremost, Sensobright fosters a non-judgmental and friendly atmosphere of intellectual discussion to make way for new ideas. In the face of especially challenging technical roadblocks, Sensobright’s team comes together around a “technical roundtable” to engage in solution-oriented discussions with a multi-disciplinary approach.

The first-hand experience of Sensobright’s technologies and unhindered culture of innovation is what keeps great talent motivated for success.

Path ahead for Sensobright Industries LLC

When The Silicon Review asked Prof. Dr. Utku about Sensobright’s future he stated that, “We’ve already done things such as equipping robot hands with tactile sensors to a level of touch sensitivity exceeding human ability or converting leather armrests of a car into touch-based control surfaces (converted to smart surfaces). At the moment, we are working on laparoscopic surgery devices, equipping cold steel apparatus with tactile and temperature sensing ability to detect cancerous tissues during laparoscopic surgery as well as sensing any internal bleeding with the help of AI software.” Furthermore he added that, “The type of future we envision for our firm is to be a developer of game-changing real-world applications of our technology for a wide variety of industries, while staying laser focused on select applications for strategic industries for the time being is how we stay efficient in our endeavors.”

While Sensobright is continuously improving the spatial density and sensitivity resolution of its sensors with every iteration, at the moment the company’s journey is primarily focused on developing implementation and customization solutions of its products for different industries, applications and customer requirements. Prof. Dr. Utku advises everyone to keep watching Sensobright and its offerings in the future to witness groundbreaking industry specific applications arising.

Meet the leader behind the success of Sensobright Industries LLC

Sensobright Industries LLC’s Founder and CEO, 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 180 international granted patents, including USA, 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 Falling Walls Foundation, which has President of Nobel Foundation among its board members. He is also professional guitar player, illustrator and music composer.

Leading from the front

“My general style can be described as leading through example. As an accomplished creator in many fields, and a trailblazing innovator in technology, I expect a high level of creativity and innovative solutions from my team. While I acknowledge that errors and roadblocks are unavoidable working on cutting edge technologies and support our team with ideas, I appreciate persistence through exploring different avenues to overcome challenges. To me, commitment to success and adaptability to changes in priorities in a dynamic work environment are the most valuable skills any team member can have. I believe patience and compassion are the most important supporting skills when it comes to leadership. Without them, it’s not possible to coach people into realizing their full potential.”