VIENNA, Aug. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Recently, Daolin Ma, Founder and CEO of Xense Robotics, published a bylined article in the World Economic Forum titled “Why tactile intelligence may become the next infrastructure layer for physical AI.”

In the article, Ma explores the next technological focus of Physical AI, the value of tactile intelligence, and what it will take for robots to operate reliably in the real world.

The article begins with the broader shift from artificial intelligence operating in the digital world to AI entering the physical world. It examines a question that is becoming increasingly important: when robots enter factories, warehouses, hospitals, and homes, is simply “understanding” the world enough?

As artificial intelligence moves from digital spaces into the physical world, the article argues that the central challenge for robots is no longer only whether they can understand the world, but whether they can interact with it reliably.

The next stage of Physical AI may therefore depend not only on building larger-scale models, but also on equipping robots with richer and more complete physical perception. Tactile feedback, including information about contact, force, friction, deformation, and material properties, may become a crucial layer connecting intelligence with the physical world.

Since its founding, Xense Robotics has remained focused on the field of tactile intelligence. The company has developed a leading position in theoretical research while maintaining a strong focus on practical implementation, combining technical depth with a forward-looking approach to product and application development.

Today, Xense has established a full-stack ecosystem for physical interaction spanning hardware, data, and models. It is also one of the few industrial pioneers in China with the capability to deploy tactile intelligence in real-world applications.

Looking ahead, Xense will continue advancing tactile intelligence to accelerate the adoption of Physical AI.

About Xense Robotics

Xense Robotics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. was founded in May 2024 by Daolin Ma, an Associate Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the sole winner of ICRA 2021’s Best Paper Award. The company is a high-tech enterprise focused on intelligent robots, physical intelligence, and the perception and autonomous interaction capabilities required for robots to operate in the real world.

Xense has developed an integrated technology system covering hardware, data, models, and real-world applications. The company has independently developed multimodal tactile sensors, the XTac tactile data collection system, and the VTLA multimodal foundation model.

The VTLA model integrates visual, tactile, language, and action information to enhance robots’ perception, understanding, and manipulation capabilities in real-world physical interactions. This further strengthens Xense’s technological foundation in tactile intelligence.

Building on its hardware-data-model-application capabilities, Xense is advancing tactile intelligence from foundational hardware and real-world interaction data to embodied intelligence model training and application deployment.

To date, Xense has served more than 300 leading companies and top research institutions. The company has established partnerships with organizations including Li Auto, CATL, and L’Oréal, and has received strategic investment from Hillhouse Ventures, Oriza Seed, and Li Auto, AGIBOT, TARS, among others.

Looking ahead, Xense will continue building the “tactile foundation layer” for the era of embodied intelligence, helping robots move beyond seeing the world toward understanding and interacting with it.

Original article:
https://www.weforum.org/stories/artificial-intelligence/tactile-intelligence-next-infrastructure-layer-for-physical-ai/

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