LG Innotek is joining forces with Japanese electronic components leader TDK to co-develop core sensing technologies that serve as a robot’s eyes and skin. The strategic alliance aims to capture the physical AI market, where artificial intelligence interacts with the physical world.
LG Innotek announced on the 28th that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with TDK for “Physical AI Solution Development Cooperation” at its Magok headquarters in Seoul’s Gangseo District. The signing ceremony was attended by Min-jun, LG Innotek’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), and Shuichi Hashiyama, TDK’s CTO. Through this collaboration, the two companies plan to combine LG Innotek’s optical and ultra-precision design technologies with TDK’s diverse sensor technologies to introduce sensing solutions for physical AI, including a “next-generation vision sensing module” and a “tactile sensing module.”
TDK is a global top-tier electronic components company that has intensively cultivated its sensor business for over 20 years, building an extensive sensor portfolio applicable to physical AI, including inertial, position, pressure, and temperature sensors. LG Innotek is initiating advanced research to integrate these TDK sensors into its vision sensing modules. In particular, equipping modules with TDK’s inertial measurement units (IMUs) enables real-time compensation for image data shaking caused by robot movement, allowing far more accurate environmental perception than conventional modules that only collect visual information. The company also plans to combine position sensors and microphones to create multi-functional modules that integrate motion, direction, and acoustic data processing, maximizing robotic perception performance.
An LG Innotek representative stated, “The forms of next-generation vision sensing modules we can create through synergy with TDK, which possesses dozens of sensor technologies, are limitless,” adding, “We will first unveil a module equipped with an inertial sensor in 2027.” From a robot manufacturer’s perspective, receiving a single integrated module rather than purchasing and connecting multiple sensors individually is expected to significantly reduce development and procurement burdens.
The two companies are also embarking on the joint development of a tactile sensing module that functions as a robot’s “skin.” This module is a core component mounted on various parts of a robot—not just fingers but also arms and torso—to recognize contact and pressure intensity. The field demands advanced technologies such as ultra-precision, ultra-thin, and flexible substrates. The companies aim to complete development by 2027 by combining LG Innotek’s modularization and digital signal processing technologies with TDK’s ultra-precision tactile sensing expertise accumulated across consumer goods, automotive, and other industries.
The tactile sensing field is a new business that LG Innotek CEO Moon Hyuk-soo personally highlighted at CES 2026 in Las Vegas earlier this year, expressing his commitment to its pursuit. At the time, Moon emphasized, “LG Innotek is no longer a components company but a solutions company,” adding, “Based on our core technologies in sensing, substrates, and control, we will continue to explore and commercialize robot sensing, actuators, and tactile sensors.”
The growth potential of the tactile sensor market also underpins this collaboration. According to market research firm Grand View Research, the global tactile sensor market, valued at approximately $3.68 billion (around 5 trillion won) last year, is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 25%, reaching approximately $21.5 billion (31.6 trillion won) by 2033.
Noboru Saito, President and CEO of TDK, said, “We are delighted to partner with LG Innotek, a world-class physical AI sensing company. By combining TDK’s foundational technologies and sensors with LG Innotek’s core technologies, we will introduce products that can change the market landscape.”
CEO Moon Hyuk-soo stated, “Multi-sensing, which combines numerous sensors, will gain prominence in the robotics field, and through collaboration with TDK, which possesses various types of sensors, we will lead the robot core components ecosystem.” He added, “We will continue to collaborate with diverse companies to advance core technologies applied to robot eyes and hands, accelerating our efforts to capture the physical AI market.”