Contactile wins AI robotics sprint for Boston residency

Contactile has won the Propel-AIR 2026 AI and robotics sprint run by ARM Hub and MassRobotics. The Sydney company will receive a residency at MassRobotics in Boston.

The award came at the end of a four-week programme involving seven Australian companies, with SpatioTemporal named runner-up.

Founded out of UNSW Sydney in 2019, Contactile develops tactile sensors and grippers designed to help robots measure force, slip and friction when handling delicate or variable objects. It focuses on industrial settings where reliable physical manipulation remains a barrier to wider deployment.

The result also coincided with a new memorandum of understanding between Brisbane-based ARM Hub and Boston-based MassRobotics. The agreement sets out closer collaboration on industrial AI and robotics, including exchanges of technology and expertise and support for Australian companies seeking entry into the US market.

Contactile's Boston residency will be the first initiative delivered under that arrangement. Startups in the MassRobotics network have raised more than USD $2 billion in venture funding since 2017, according to the organisation.

Programme outcome

Propel-AIR is designed to help Australian robotics and AI companies move beyond domestic prospects and attract international investors. The sprint included mentoring, investor sessions and a final pitch night.

Other finalists in the cohort were JP Robotics, OarSense, Aurova, MotionLogic and ProxGrid. ARM Hub runs the programme through its AI Adopt Centre.

For Contactile, the win offers a foothold in one of the largest robotics clusters in the United States, at a time when developers are trying to improve how machines interact with unpredictable physical environments. Tactile sensing has become a closely watched area as robotics groups work on systems that can perform beyond controlled demonstrations.

Marita McGinn, Director of Growth at MassRobotics, said the agreement would create a direct route for Australian companies into Boston.

"We are excited to deepen our relationship with ARM Hub," said McGinn. "Our MoU opens a direct pathway for Australian companies into the Boston robotics ecosystem and a route to commercialisation in the United States. We are thrilled to welcome the Contactile team to Boston this fall."

Why Contactile

ARM Hub said Contactile stood out because its technology addresses a practical problem facing robotics developers across multiple applications. Its products are intended to give machines more precise feedback when gripping and moving objects, an area seen as essential to expanding robotics use in manufacturing and other industrial tasks.

Dr Heba Khamis, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Contactile, said the residency would help the company build connections in the US robotics market.

"This residency is a tremendous opportunity to connect with the Boston robotics ecosystem more broadly and build relationships with some of the most exciting companies developing solutions in the Physical AI space," said Khamis. "The market timing for tactile intelligence has never been better. As Physical AI moves from demonstration to deployment, robots need a reliable sense of touch, and Contactile is perfectly positioned to deliver it."

Professor Cori Stewart, Chief Executive Officer of ARM Hub, linked Contactile's work to a broader push to improve robotics hardware and software for real-world use.

"The robotics world is racing to build humanoids and general-purpose machines, but a robot is only as capable as its sense of touch, and that is exactly what Australian robotics company Contactile has spent years perfecting," said Stewart. "They were a standout in this cohort because their technology answers a problem the whole industry is running into at once. In Boston they will embed in one of the world's densest robotics ecosystems, connect with the humanoid and Physical AI companies building the next generation of machines, and open doors to US customers and investors. It is the right technology at the right time, and Boston is the right place to prove it."

McGinn said customer demand and technical focus had helped distinguish the company during the sprint.

"Contactile stood out for their commitment to building what their customers need and for their dedication to their technology," said McGinn. "Touch is what makes robots reliable in the real world, and it matters across a vast array of applications, so their work could not be more timely."