Haptics in Robotics: A Systematic Literature Review

Tactile sensing has emerged as a critical capability for robotic systems in contact-rich environments where vision and position control alone are insufficient. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, this review synthesises 19 studies on haptic and tactile sensing for robotic manipulation, covering sensor design, multimodal perception, teleoperation feedback, and learning-based control. High-resolution tactile sensors substantially improve grasp stability, slip detection, and in-hand manipulation. Embedding tactile signals into reinforcement learning and visual-tactile pre-training frameworks improves success rates and generalisation. Neuroscience findings on sensorimotor integration provide additional design principles for robotic haptic interfaces. Key challenges remain in sensor durability, computational cost, and sim-to-real transfer.