Scientists have achieved a groundbreaking feat: AI can now "feel" surfaces, detecting minute textures with incredible precision. By combining quantum technology and AI, machines can process laser pulses that create "speckle noise," which AI then converts into usable data to reveal surface textures.
This breakthrough has wide applications. In medicine, it could help detect early signs of skin cancer by identifying tiny changes in mole texture. In manufacturing and robotics, it enables machines to “feel” their environment in real-time, improving quality control and precision tasks like surgery.
Tests on industrial sandpaper with roughness as fine as 1 micrometre showed that the AI system achieved a remarkable 4-micrometre error margin—comparable to advanced tools.
This technology, still in its early stages, could revolutionise industries, offering new ways for machines to interact with the world with unprecedented precision.
