Sensor structures
Design flexible sensing elements, sensor arrays or end-effector contact structures to measure force, pressure, deformation and slip.
ARTS Robotics / Research opportunities
Graduate research in tactile sensing.
Tactile sensors and perception methods for dexterous robotic manipulation.
Help robots understand contact.
This project develops tactile sensing systems for robot hands, grippers and end effectors. The goal is to use contact feedback to assess grasp stability, detect slip and support dexterous manipulation.
The research is intended for students in mechanical engineering. Please contact the laboratory to confirm the relevant admission round and available places.
The research
From sensor design to robot experiments.
The project connects tactile sensor mechanics, signal acquisition, perception algorithms and experiments on real robotic systems.
Embedded acquisition
Develop signal conditioning, acquisition circuits and microcontroller communication for stable, reproducible measurements.
Tactile perception
Study contact detection, force estimation, slip recognition and material or shape recognition using signal processing and machine learning.
Robot validation
Integrate sensors with arms, hands, grippers or mobile manipulators, then evaluate grasp stability, contact feedback control and failure recovery.
Who this project is for.
We welcome students who enjoy building hardware and testing ideas on robots. Relevant foundations include mechanical design, sensors, embedded systems, ROS, C/C++ or Python.
You should be interested in connecting research methods with physical experiments, including work with robot arms, dexterous hands, grippers or manipulation tasks on quadruped platforms.
Potential research outputs
- A working tactile sensor prototype.
- A system for tactile data acquisition, calibration and analysis.
- Tactile recognition or slip-detection algorithms.
- Manipulation experiments on a robot arm, gripper or related platform.
- Publications, patent applications, software, competition projects or engineering demonstrations, depending on the research.
The laboratory
ARTS Robotics at SZTU.
ARTS Robotics studies autonomous locomotion, manipulation and embodied intelligence at Shenzhen Technology University. Work combines algorithms, system integration and experimental evaluation on mobile robots, quadrupeds and manipulators.
The laboratory also supports joint research and student innovation projects in mining inspection, autonomous navigation and robot intelligence.
Explore the laboratoryResearch supervision.
Gan Ma holds a PhD in mechanical engineering and is an associate professor at SZTU’s Sino-German College of Intelligent Manufacturing. He leads ARTS Robotics and has been recognized under Shenzhen’s Peacock Plan for overseas high-level talent.
His research spans autonomous manipulation, mobility, mechanical system design and embodied intelligence, with experience developing humanoid and disaster-response robots and validating control methods on real systems.
Get in touch
Tell us what you would like to investigate.
Send a one-page introduction or CV covering your academic background, relevant courses, project experience, programming or hardware skills, and the research questions that interest you.
Before contacting us, explore robot perception, manipulation, flexible sensors or tactile sensing, and identify a small problem you would like to solve.
magan@sztu.edu.cnYou can copy this address into your email application if the link does not open.