Beyond Dexterity: Why Contact May Define the Next Era of Robotics

▤ Summary

AGILINK used ICRA 2026 to showcase how contact intelligence can improve robotic manipulation beyond simple dexterity. The demonstration highlighted balloon twisting as a difficult contact-rich task that requires both long-horizon motion control and stable force regulation. AGILINK also introduced the OmniHand 3 Ultra-M, a human-scale dexterous hand with direct-drive actuation and dense tactile sensing. The product targets delicate, deformable, and unstable manipulation tasks such as cable insertion, garment handling, and flexible packaging. The article positions contact sensing and force control as the next major frontier for robotics hardware and learning systems.

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