A robot’s understanding of the world usually begins with vision. But whether a grasp is stable, a plug is seated, or a press is firm enough still depends on touch, and that is the wedge Shenzhen’s PaXini Perception is driving into embodied AI.
The company has opened ‘ONE FOR ALL’, a roughly 3,000-square-metre physical-AI showroom in Bao’an, anchored by a six-metre-tall robot sculpture overlooking the city skyline.
The case for touch
PaXini, valued above 10 billion yuan, builds a full stack of multi-dimensional tactile sensing: Hall-effect tactile sensors that capture sub-millimetre deformation, a self-developed tactile processing unit, dexterous hands, and tactile humanoids such as TORA-ONE and the lighter TORA-DOUBLE ONE. The thesis is that high-fidelity touch is the missing variable for robots that must act reliably in unstructured settings.
The timing is deliberate. IDC data cited by the company puts 2025 global humanoid shipments above 18,000 units, up about 508 per cent year on year, with Chinese makers dominant. Morgan Stanley has raised its 2026 China shipment forecast from 28,000 to 50,000 units, judging commercialisation ahead of expectations.
From sensors to a data flywheel
Inside the showroom, PaXini lays out its loop: perception hardware, data collection, model training and deployment. Its ‘Super EID Factory’ data clusters span five regions of China, recording vision, force, touch and motion to build a high-fidelity multimodal dataset.
Demonstration zones show TORA-DOUBLE ONE units collaborating on transport, sorting, inspection and maintenance, and a smart-restaurant scene where two humanoids handle preparation and guidance. The space also doubles as an open research platform for universities and a media experience centre.
PaXini is betting that as robots move from moving around to actually doing things, the companies that own touch, not just vision, will define the next chapter.
Translated and adapted from OFweek Robotics (robot.ofweek.com).
Source: https://robot.ofweek.com/2026-07/ART-898890-8120-30696532.html