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ForceN, a company that supplies force torque sensors for robotic wrists and other joints, will present a session on force and torque sensing for humanoids at RoboBusiness 2026. The talk, titled “A Crash Course in Force & Torque Sensing for Humanoids,” will be delivered by founder and CEO Robert Brooks and addresses a core challenge as humanoids move into industrial roles: handling everything from heavy to delicate objects with precision.
Force torque sensors give robots a sense of touch, and without them, robots are blind to how much pressure they are applying while working. ForceN has supplied sensing systems to surgical, logistics, humanoid, and other robots, and the company designs for complex and unstructured applications across surgical, logistics, space, humanoid, nuclear, and food/agricultural robotics.
Force torque sensors give robots a sense of touch, and without them, robots are blind to how much pressure they are applying while working.
Brooks will summarize learnings from working with many of the world’s top humanoid companies over the past three years, along with best practices companies can incorporate from force/torque sensor developments in surgical, logistics, and field robotics. The stated goal is to accelerate the production and field readiness of humanoids. Attendees will learn about the many ways they can use force and torque sensors in humanoids and how to avoid breaking them while doing it.
Brooks brings a decade of force sensing experience, having spent the past decade developing force/torque sensing at ForceN. The company was based on his Ph.D. work on next-generation sensing and actuation for surgical robots at the University of Toronto and SickKids Hospital, and on his previous work experience in early unstructured robotics across the nuclear, heavy manufacturing, field, and medical robotics industries. He is working to help grow and accelerate the complex and unstructured robotics ecosystem by sharing what he has learned through his career.
The event will be held on Oct. 20 and 21 in Santa Clara, Calif., with Brooks speaking at 2:15 p.m. PT on the first day of the show.
Source: The Robot Report