Forcen :: Equipping Robots & Intelligent Machines With a Sophisticated Sense of Touch

Forcen is an innovative Canadian deep-tech company headquartered in Toronto, dedicated to equipping robots and intelligent machines with a sophisticated sense of touch. Founded in the mid-2010s as a spin-off from advanced materials and sensor research (likely tied to University of Toronto expertise), the company addresses one of robotics’ most persistent challenges: the lack of nuanced tactile feedback. While vision systems have advanced dramatically, most robots still struggle with delicate manipulation, adaptive grasping, slip detection, and safe physical interaction with unstructured environments. Forcen bridges this gap through proprietary high-resolution, multi-axis force and torque sensing technologies that deliver real-time haptic data in thin, flexible, and scalable formats.

The company’s core offerings revolve around tactile sensor arrays and 6DoF (six degrees of freedom) force/torque sensors specifically engineered for robotic integration. Their flagship Aether sensor platform consists of ultra-thin (often sub-millimeter) piezoresistive or hybrid sensor sheets that can conform to curved surfaces such as robotic fingers, palms, grippers, or even entire “robotic skin” coverings. These sensors measure normal forces, shear forces, vibration, and torque across hundreds of individual taxels (tactile sensing elements) at high sampling rates exceeding 1 kHz. This enables advanced capabilities including real-time slip detection, adaptive grip force control, object hardness and texture classification, and precise manipulation of fragile or irregularly shaped items.

Forcen’s products are optimized for collaborative robots (cobots) from manufacturers like Universal Robots, ABB, and Fanuc. Integration improves safety by allowing robots to sense unexpected contact and modulate force instantly, going far beyond basic collision detection. In industrial automation, the sensors excel at precision assembly, polishing, deburring, and quality inspection where consistent yet gentle force application is critical. The company also targets medical and healthcare robotics with biocompatible, high-accuracy sensors that provide haptic feedback to surgeons during minimally invasive procedures or enable more natural control in prosthetic limbs and rehabilitation exoskeletons. Research and development kits are offered with full SDKs, ROS (Robot Operating System) compatibility, visualization tools, calibration software, and example machine-learning models that turn raw tactile data into actionable intelligence.

Beyond hardware, Forcen emphasizes “tactile intelligence.” Their software layer applies AI and machine learning to interpret complex force patterns, allowing robots to learn skills through touch in a manner analogous to human development. This combination of durable, low-power, electromagnetically robust sensors and intelligent algorithms positions Forcen at the intersection of materials science, robotics, and artificial intelligence. The sensors feature wide dynamic range, low noise, high repeatability, and scalable manufacturing processes that support both low-volume custom solutions and future mass adoption.

Forcen maintains a strong patent portfolio and collaborates with academic institutions and industry partners to push boundaries in tactile perception. Their technology is already demonstrating measurable gains—such as dramatically higher grasp success rates on slippery or delicate objects and safer human-robot collaboration. As industries move toward flexible manufacturing, eldercare robotics, logistics automation, and surgical precision, Forcen’s products are becoming key enablers for the next generation of truly dexterous, adaptive, and safe robots. The company continues to innovate in conformal materials, edge AI processing, and cost reduction to accelerate widespread adoption of tactile sensing across the robotics ecosystem.