1. Flexible tactile sensing enables more precise food processing automation

At the 2026 Beijing International Science Fiction and Future Industries Expo, a smart robotic arm equipped with soft tactile sensors became a highlight of the exhibition floor. In a public demonstration, the robotic arm successfully completed two challenging tasks: gripping soft tofu with precisely the right amount of force without breaking it, and accurately separating the head and tail of a crawfish.

The demonstration quickly drew attention at the expo. The visual contrast of a "robotic arm gripping soft tofu" showcased the level of force control accuracy currently achievable in soft robotics — marking a transition from heavy-duty operations such as box handling and palletizing to precision tasks that require real-time texture sensing and adaptive force adjustment.

2. Live Demo: One Robotic Arm, Both "Soft" and "Hard" Tasks

According to on-site staff, the core capability of this robotic arm lies in its integrated soft tactile sensors. When facing fragile tofu, the arm's sensors instantly detect the object's softness and automatically reduce gripping force to achieve damage-free handling. When handling crawfish — hard-shelled but with soft flesh — the arm applies sufficient force to quickly separate the head and tail.

This means the same piece of equipment can seamlessly switch between "gentle" and "firm" modes, simultaneously handling two traditionally incompatible categories of tasks: soft materials (tofu, tomatoes, cakes) and hard-shelled aquatic products (crawfish, shrimp, crabs).

3. Technological Breakthrough: Soft Tactile Sensors Give Robotic Arms "Electronic Skin"

Traditional rigid grippers rely on preset programs to control force, struggling to balance the trade-off between applying too much force (causing damage) and too little force (failing to secure the object). Soft tactile sensors change this paradigm.

The technology uses elastic material deformation to sense contact force distribution, feeding real-time data back to the control system for adaptive force control. This "sense–decide–act" closed-loop control enables robotic arms to adjust operating force based on object characteristics — a critical step for soft robotics moving from "functional implementation" to "precision operation."

4. Industry Value: Solving Two Core Pain Points in Food Processing Automation

In the food processing and seafood processing industries, the following two types of operations have long been considered automation's difficult problem:

- Fragile ingredient handling: tofu, jelly, cakes, cooked fruits and vegetables — requiring extremely low gripping force and uniform contact surface;

- Slippery / irregular ingredient handling: shrimp, fish, meat — requiring sufficient holding force without damaging texture.

Soft tactile sensing technology offers a unified solution to these pain points. When the same equipment can handle both soft and hard ingredients, production line flexibility improves significantly — manufacturers no longer need multiple dedicated equipment sets for different product categories, enabling faster changeovers, higher equipment utilization, and shorter return on investment cycles.

5. Latest Update: Official Launch at the 2026 Qianjiang Crawfish Festival

According to on-site staff, the crawfish-peeling robotic arm is scheduled for official public and industry launch at the 2026 Qianjiang Crawfish Festival. Qianjiang is China's core crawfish production region, and the Qianjiang Crawfish Festival is the most influential annual event in China's crawfish industry.

The trajectory from expo demonstration to industry festival launch signals that the technology is moving from "lab / exhibition display" into practical application promotion. For buyers in food processing, seafood processing, and prepared food production, the accessibility of this technology is transitioning from concept to reality.