LG Innotek, TDK join forces to give robots better vision, sense of touch

For the partnership, LG Innotek is contributing its modularization and digital signal processing technology, and Japan-based TDK is doing the same with its tactile sensing technology. Min Jong, the LG Innotek chief technology officer (CTO), right, and TDK CTO Shuichi Hashiyama pose for a.

LG INNOTEK LG Innotek will work with Japanese electronics components maker TDK to develop next-generation sensing technologies, including a tactile “skin” sensor, in the field of physical AI. The partnership centers on combining TDK’s motion, positioning and audio sensors with LG Innotek’s vision-sensing modules.

What Happened

A robot’s movement shakes its camera, which causes its vision to blur. By employing TDK’s inertial measurement unit, a sensor that tracks motion in real time, the system will sense exactly how a robot’s movement will affect the camera and correct its.

• LEE JAE-LIM LEE JAE-LIM BUSINESS REPORTER Published July 28, 2026 - 3:48 p.m.

• Under the partnership, LG Innotek and TDK are developing a system to stabilize a robot’s vision, and the two plan to unveil a module in 2027.

• LG Innotek and TDK are also building a tactile sensing module that helps a robot feel, with a target completion date of 2027.

Key Details

The result is the robot’s steadier, more accurate recognition of its surroundings even while in motion. Mounted on a robot’s hand, arms, torso or another section, the component functions like human skin and allows the robot to sense contact and pressure.

• The AI sensor market is expected to grow 43.61 percent per year from $4.77 billion in 2024 to $178 billion in 2034, according to market tracker Precedence Research.

• Bank of Korea data show AI supply chain demand boosted shipments to Taiwan and the United States, while China’s dominance in Korean semiconductor exports continued to weaken.

• Korea’s noodle makers are expanding from mild to extreme spice and tailoring flavors by region as exports surge and overseas shoppers drive sales.

Why It Matters

The tactile module is considered a high-value but difficult component to build, as it requires precision engineering and must be ultrathin, flexible and highly sensitive. Along with vision sensing, the component is increasingly seen as one of the core building blocks of.

• AIBIX lab launched a 100-point ranking system to measure how often brands appear in the top four AI models.

• TDK has invested heavily in its sensor business over the past two decades and holds a broad sensor portfolio spanning inertial, positioning, pressure and temperature sensors.

What Reports Say

Coverage of the story so far points to:

• Continued reporting by Korea JoongAng Daily as more details emerge