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About

Somchai Pohtongkam is a researcher specializing in tactile sensing, humanoid robotics, and artificial intelligence-driven object recognition. His work sits at the fascinating intersection of biomimetic engineering and machine learning, focusing on developing sophisticated touch-based systems that replicate human sensory capabilities in robotic platforms. Pohtongkam's most significant contribution is the design and application of piezoresistive tactile sensor arrays for humanoid robot hands. His 2021 paper, "Tactile Object Recognition for Humanoid Robots Using New Designed Piezoresistive Tactile Sensor and DCNN," has garnered 43 citations, establishing him as a notable voice in the field. This work introduced a compact, PCB-based palm-size sensor array combined with deep convolutional neural networks to enable robots to identify objects through touch alone. Subsequent research extended these innovations through full-hand tactile sensors (2023, 17 citations) and a tactile glove platform (2022, 10 citations), progressively advancing toward more naturalistic, human-like robotic sensing. His earlier foundational work from 2016 demonstrated an enduring commitment to artificial neural network approaches for tactile image recognition. Across his career, Pohtongkam's cumulative research addresses a critical gap in robotics — enabling machines to "feel" and interpret the physical world with increasing sophistication and reliability.