TG invests in robotics firm to advance e-Rubber

Kiyosu, Japan – Toyoda Gosei (TG) has invested Yen120 million (€97 million) for a 7.6% stake in the Tokyo-based start-up QBIT Robotics Corp, TG announced 10 June.

The robotics services provider, it said, will help accelerate the development of tactile robot hands using TG's e-Rubber sensors.

QBIT develops systems centred on collaborative robots that work together with humans for use in the services industry, including food and entertainment segments.

TG is developing a tactile hand that can sense the shape and softness of objects, a capability that conventional robots lack.

The hand features TG’s patented e-Rubber, a next-generation rubber that contracts with the application of voltage.

The rubber can, therefore, be used as a light, soft artificial muscle for robots.

In addition, when e-Rubber’s shape changes due to external pressure, the amount of its internally stored electricity changes.

With this property, it can also function as a soft, high-accuracy sensor that can note minute changes in pressure.

As part of the first collaboration between the two partners, TG’s tactile hand will be used in QBIT’s “&robot café system.”

QBIT has developed and designed robotic systems for Huis Ten Bosch Inc. for use in the company’s robot-staffed café.