KIRISENSE • OPTICAL TACTILE SENSING

Tactile intelligence for robots that handle the real world

Kirisense develops optical tactile sensors inspired by kirigami, enabling robots and automation systems to sense pressure, texture and motion in real time. Touch is the missing piece that makes dexterous manipulation possible.

What we do:
Kirisense turns rigid materials into flexible, sensorised surfaces that give robots a sense of touch — from first contact through to stable grasp and release.

We’re advancing proof‑of‑concept development with robotics OEMs, automation integrators and research labs. If you’re working on dexterous manipulation or tactile perception, we’d like to talk.

Robots can move. Touch is the bottleneck.

Mobility and vision have improved rapidly, but reliable manipulation still depends on tactile feedback — detecting contact, measuring pressure, sensing slip and understanding texture in real time. Without touch, automation stalls on the tasks that matter most: delicate handling, irregular objects and safe human–robot collaboration.

What we build
Optical tactile sensors inspired by kirigami structures, converting material deformation into high‑resolution signals for pressure, texture and motion.
Why it matters
Touch unlocks dexterous grasping, safer human–robot interaction and consistent task completion in messy, human‑designed environments where vision‑only systems fail.
Where it fits first
Robotics and automation tasks that defeat vision‑only systems: food handling, warehouse picking, lab automation, waste sorting and wearable / HMI interfaces.

We’re currently exploring pilots with food automation, warehouse robotics, agri‑robotics and lab automation partners. If you have a handling problem that today’s robots can’t solve, we’d be happy to explore it with you.

Where Kirisense fits first

We focus on robotics and automation tasks that defeat vision‑only systems — where touch is the difference between a demo and a deployable solution.

Food & agri‑food
Delicate product handling

Fresh produce, bakery items and ready meals with irregular shapes and fragile surfaces. Tactile sensing prevents bruising and enables automation where suction cups fail.

Warehouse & logistics
Mixed‑SKU picking

Pouches, flexible packaging and soft goods in fulfilment centres. Tactile feedback improves pick success and reduces the need for SKU‑specific grippers.

Lab, waste & more
Precision & messy environments

Lab automation, waste sorting and human–robot interfaces, where contact forces must be controlled tightly and conditions change from one cycle to the next.

Kirisense is building on patented kirigami‑inspired sensing research and is actively engaging with robotics OEMs, automation integrators and UK research groups to run early pilots.

Discuss a pilot →

Have a handling problem current robots can’t solve?

Share a short description of your use case — food, warehouse, lab, waste or other. We can quickly assess whether tactile sensing is likely to help and what a pilot could look like.

Start a conversation

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