#USA #Pittsburgh #Daimon Robotics #Tactile Intelligence #IROS 2026

Daimon Robotics Showcases Revolutionary Physical AI Infrastructure at IROS 2026

Daimon Robotics, a pioneering company in the realm of physical AI with a strong focus on tactile intelligence, took the stage at the esteemed IROS 2026 exhibition held in Pittsburgh. Under the inspiring theme 'From Touch to Intelligence', the company presented its groundbreaking tactile infrastructure, alongside groundbreaking advancements in robotic manipulation for handling complex tasks.

As robots increasingly tackle intricate tasks across various physical environments, the importance of perception escalates beyond mere sight. Factors such as touch, force, friction, and material response often dictate the success of an action, yet capturing these physical properties through vision alone poses significant challenges. Tactile sensing adds critical physical information, enabling robots to interact with the world more effectively.

Daimon is at the forefront of this technological evolution, developing an integrated system that combines tactile perception, physical interaction data, and world modeling. During the IROS exhibition, Daimon highlighted three pivotal elements of this innovative system:

1. Perception: The DM-Tac series uses vision-based tactile sensors that deliver multidimensional, high-resolution, and high-frequency data through over twelve tactile modalities, boasting more than 110,000 individual sensing units. Live demonstrations at IROS showcased the sensors' capabilities, including underwater detection, durability testing, and empty packaging detection, emphasizing high precision and stability under demanding conditions.

2. Data: The Data-Nexus Acquisition System seamlessly unites data acquisition devices, networks, processing flows, and benchmarking evaluations into a single data production workflow. This system continuously generates high-quality interaction data essential for training models.

3. World Model: The Daimon-TWM leverages interaction data to facilitate physical cognition, predictive decision-making, and real-time control. This model serves as a linchpin for dexterous manipulation, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of physical tasks.

First Public Demonstration of Daimon-TWM

IROS 2026 marked the inaugural public demonstration of the Daimon-TWM since its launch in August. Two autonomous manipulation tasks showcased the model’s advanced capabilities:

• - Friendship Bracelet Beading: This task involved the precise collection of tiny engraved beads and their alignment for insertion into a flexible thread. It required meticulous small-scale manipulation of deformable materials, with the robot continuously adjusting its actions based on subtle physical interactions rather than adhering to a fixed sequence of movements.

• - Heat Transfer Printing on Tote Bags: In this task, the robot autonomously handled label placement, film removal, hot stamping, curing, and final placement. This extended operation demanded precise placement, delicate peeling, and sensitivity to variable contact conditions, all while ensuring force-sensitive operations across multiple sequential steps. Daimon-TWM's intelligent design allows the robot to anticipate the consequences of each action, adapting its next move according to the physical state of the task.

In both scenarios, feedback from tactile sensors enabled Daimon-TWM to remain responsive to the physical state of the task, dynamically adjusting its behavior from one step to the next.

Bridging the Gap Between AI and the Physical World

Through the development of a tactile intelligence infrastructure, Daimon Robotics aims to empower robots to learn, adapt, and perform increasingly sophisticated manipulation tasks in everyday environments. By shifting from vision-based robotics to touch-based interactions, the company is facilitating a deeper engagement between AI systems and their physical surroundings.

About Daimon Robotics

Founded by a team from the Robotics Research Institute at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Daimon Robotics commenced operations in 2023. Headquartered in Shenzhen, the company boasts an R&D division in Hong Kong. Daimon is committed to creating a closed-loop physical AI ecosystem that seamlessly integrates tactile sensing, data analytics, and world modeling, thereby endowing robots with authentic physical intelligence. Their main product offerings include high-resolution, frequency-responsive vision-based tactile sensors, a multimodal VTLA data acquisition system, and a physical world model grounded in tactile information, enabling robust and dexterous manipulations in our complex, interaction-rich world.