Quebec City's Robotiq adds sense of touch to robot hands with new Force Torqe Sensor

Quebec City’s Robotiq has released its new Force Torque Sensor, called the FT 300, that adds a sense of touch to robots, allowing a high degree of precision and control for robots engaged in complex tasks like product testing, assembly and part insertion.
The FT 300 has plug-and-play integration with Universal Robots, making it easy to set up with existing equipment.
The process is made even simpler for local operators with Robotiq’s plug and play kit with prepackaged subroutines, how-to videos and step-by-step installation and programming guide.
“We strongly value our customers’ opinions and knowledge; and we want to use this to provide positive solutions for the successful automation of their project,” says Robotiq CEO Samuel Bouchard. “We strive to make our products user-friendly and fast to integrate in any kind of industrial application, so that our customers can concentrate on their business.”
The FT 300 comes with attachable USB wiring, and software templates for operating the sensor.
The sensor is designed with Universal Robots in mind, meaning that it has an embedded coupling to fit directly on to a UR wrist, that the tool side of the sensor matches the UR bolt pattern, saving on installation downtime.
With its small footprint, the sensor appears to simply be a continuation of the robot’s arm, rather than an extra piece.
Robotiq was founded in 2008 by Université Laval graduates Samuel Bouchard, Vincent Duchaine and Jean-Philippe Jobin, all students of Clément Gosselin, director of Laval’s Laboratoire de robotique, which developed the SARAH hand for the Canadarm-2.
Robotiq has over 20 employees now, and has sold several hundred units of its robotic hand to clients ranging from research institutes to manufacturers, including BMW, Bose, GE, Philips and Boeing.