How Tactile Sensing Is Turning Quadrupeds into Agile Load Carriers

A new CMU–UW–Google DeepMind system called LocoTouch is giving quadruped robots a human-like sense of balance—letting them carry unsecured loads across complex terrain using a full-back tactile sensor array trained in simulation. The result: robots that can adapt on the fly to shifting payloads, obstacles, and real-world disruptions.