Fei-Fei Li teaches robots to feel mahjong tiles and squeeze toothpaste: AI finally has a sense of touch - 36Kr

Fei-Fei Li is extending the ImageNet-era vision toward spatial intelligence, arguing that AI must move from recognition to understanding the physical world.

The T-Rex robot project combines high-frequency tactile feedback with vision to handle tasks like turning pages, picking up eggs, squeezing toothpaste, and flipping cards.

World models, simulators, and tactile sensors are seen as key tools for helping robots perceive, predict, and act reliably in real environments.

The shift shows AI competition moving beyond image recognition and text generation toward embodied intelligence that can operate in the real world.