Tacta Systems unveils robotic hand with human-like touch for manufacturing

Tacta Systems, founded in Palo Alto, California, has unveiled a robotics platform designed to automate high-precision manufacturing tasks by endowing robots with human-like dexterity and tactile capability. At the centre is the Tacta Hand, which uses the company's proprietary Fluidic Tendon actuation technology. The hand is human-sized, features 15 independently actuated joints, and is engineered to deliver the precision, strength and durability needed for millions of manufacturing cycles. The hand is paired with tactile sensors that detect force and temperature, enabling robots to handle delicate and complex assembly operations.

To train its AI models, Tacta developed the Tacta Glove, a wearable device that records force, motion, temperature and video as manufacturing workers perform their tasks. This data is used to build the company's Dexterous Intelligence AI model, which enables robots to learn new skills more quickly and adapt to changing production requirements. The integrated platform—called TactaBot—combines the robotic hand, the wearable skill capture system, and the AI engine to automate tasks that have traditionally remained difficult for robots, including precision electronics assembly, inserting connector cables, and assembling wire harnesses.

Tacta plans to begin deploying the technology with manufacturing customers in early 2027. The company targets initial deployments in electronics, AI infrastructure and automotive manufacturing before expanding into sectors including medical devices, aerospace and defence. According to CEO Vikram Pavate, "The hand is the hardest problem in robotics, and it can't be solved without touch. We built the entire stack, the hands, the sensing, and the intelligence, so robots can finally do the physical work our economy depends on." The company has raised $75 million（約120億円） in funding from investors including Matter Venture Partners, SoftBank, Woven Capital, America's Frontier Fund and B Capital.

Tacta Systems is tackling a fundamental barrier to industrial robotics: the inability of machines to perform tasks that require both precision and tactile feedback. The company has built what it calls an integrated stack—the Tacta Hand with proprietary Fluidic Tendon actuation technology, tactile sensing, and the Dexterous Intelligence AI model. The hand itself features 15 independently actuated joints and is human-sized, designed to deliver the precision, strength and durability needed for millions of manufacturing cycles. The approach to training differs from purely synthetic methods: Tacta developed the Tacta Glove, a wearable device that records force, motion, temperature and video as workers perform real manufacturing tasks, feeding that human manipulation data directly into the AI models so robots can learn new skills more quickly and adapt to changing production requirements.

Co-founder and CEO Vikram Pavate frames the challenge clearly: "The hand is the hardest problem in robotics, and it can't be solved without touch." While the broader robotics industry discusses a trillion-dollar market opportunity, Tacta's argument is that existing robots lack the dexterity and sensing to unlock that potential. The initial target applications—precision electronics assembly, inserting connector cables, assembling wire harnesses—are traditionally difficult for robots because they demand both fine control and sensitivity to forces and temperatures. The planned timeline (early 2027 deployments) and the investor backing (SoftBank, Woven Capital, and others) reflect confidence that this technical approach may be viable at manufacturing scale.

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