Meta's Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) team has released several developments in robotics technology, marking a step forward in creating AI systems that can interact naturally with the physical world. The announcement centres on three major innovations: Meta Sparsh, a general-purpose touch representation system; Meta Digit 360, an advanced tactile fingertip sensor; and Meta Digit Plexus, a platform for integrating tactile sensors onto robot hands.
Dr. Yonmook Park, Executive Director and Head of Future Technology Headquarters at Wonik Robotics, emphasised the collaborative nature of the project. "Wonik Robotics and Meta FAIR aim to introduce robotic hands to global companies, research institutes, and universities so they can continue developing robotic hand technology that is safe and helpful to humankind," Park said in the blog post.
The Meta Digit 360 represents a breakthrough in tactile sensing, featuring over 18 sensing features and the ability to detect forces as small as 1 millinewton. The device includes more than 8 million taxels for capturing omnidirectional deformations on its surface, significantly surpassing previous sensor capabilities.
In a strategic move to make these innovations widely accessible, Meta has partnered with GelSight Inc to manufacture and distribute Digit 360, with availability planned for 2025. Simultaneously, Wonik Robotics will produce an advanced version of their Allegro Hand, incorporating Meta's tactile sensing technology.
The company also introduced PARTNR, a new benchmark system for evaluating human-robot collaboration. This framework includes 100,000 natural language tasks across 60 virtual houses and over 5,800 unique objects, providing a comprehensive testing ground for robotic systems designed to work alongside humans.
Meta is making all associated code, designs, and research papers publicly available, continuing its commitment to open-source development in AI and robotics research.