Ras Labs
About
About Ras Labs
Ras Labs' Tactile Fingertip uses a soft electroactive-polymer sensing layer that conforms to a gripper or robotic finger while measuring contact pressure and shear. Its range extends from 0.05 newtons, or 0.005 newtons in maximum-sensitivity mode, to more than 45 newtons with one-square-millimetre spatial resolution.
The compliant surface detects slip and changing load so a controller can increase grip before an object falls without crushing fragile items. Tactile Control Wrist and Pneumatic Controller hardware visualise readings and set force, speed and touch thresholds, with ROS and ROS 2 support for integration. The fingertip has retained function through more than 20 million fatigue cycles and targets industrial grippers, cobots, prosthetics and humanoid hands.
Team
- Lenore Rasmussen - Founder and Chief Technology Officer - She leads Ras Labs' electroactive-polymer and tactile-sensing technology.
- Calum Briggs - Robotics Engineer - He works on robotics integration and sensor-driven manipulation at Ras Labs.
- Aditi Pawaskar - Robotics Engineer - She contributes software and AI expertise to Ras Labs' tactile-manipulation work.
Timeline
Events
- 2026-09-11 - Award - U.S. Army names five xTechHumanoid winners, including Hydroplane and Ras Labs
ACES Group and Hydroplane presented scalable energy storage and lightweight mobile power generation. IHMC presented Alex humanoid technology; Ras Labs showed force, form and slip sensing; Velocity Explorations demonstrated command-and-control software. Competition selection supports further exploration; it is not a procurement contract or deployment award.
Source - 2026-05-28 - Demonstration - Ras Labs demonstrates Tactile Fingertip at Robotics Summit 2026
The 2026 healthcare cohort showcased live demos and presented milestones from its mentorship programme. Ras Labs was one of 11 cohort companies named in the post-event account. The official speaker page scheduled founder and CTO Lenore Rasmussen for the Healthcare Startup Showcase on 28 May 2026.
Source - 2022-04-21 - Deployment - Ras Labs tests tactile gripper sensors at four customer trial sites
Ras Labs placed its tactile-sensing technology at four customer trial sites and incorporated feedback into product development. Sensors embedded in electroactive polymer detect object shape, size and density to improve rigid-gripper handling of fragile items. The company added support for pneumatic and electric grippers, targeting variable picking with fewer tool changes.
Source
Context
Context tags
- Tactile sensing - Capability - Tactile sensing is the defining function of the company's fingertip technology.
- Tactile force feedback - Capability - The fingertip system provides pressure and touch feedback for manipulation.
- Robotics tactile sensors - Peer Group - Tactile Fingertip touch-sensing systems are developed for robotic grippers. Official evidence: https://raslabs.com/
- Humanoid tactile feedback - Capability - Ras Labs identifies humanoid hands as a target platform for its tactile sensors.