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Tesla patents flexible 3D touch sensors that bend to fit curved surfaces

Patent drawing
Patent drawing from the official filing.

Tesla describes a method for making tactile sensors that can detect touch and pressure while bending into three-dimensional shapes. The device is built by layering flexible materials with conductive patterns and a separator, then molding the stack into a specific curved form.

Why it mattersThis type of sensor could allow robots or vehicle components to feel contact on curved surfaces, improving how machines interact with physical objects.

In the filing’s own words

Disclosed herein are three-dimensional (3D) tactile sensors and methods for manufacturing the same. A method includes providing a first substrate material for the 3D tactile sensor, defining a set of first conductive regions for the 3D tactile sensor on the first substrate material, coupling a separator layer between the first substrate material including the set of first conductive regions and a second substrate material having a set of second conductive regions to create a stack, and forming the stack according to a target 3D structure. The substrate materials can include flexible polymers, and the conductive regions can be defined by processes such as screen printing, etching, laser-direct structuring, pad-printing, or 3D deposition. The separator layer can comprise a dielectric or piezoresistive material. The 3D tactile sensors can conform to curved geometries and can be used for measuring surface force, touch, and pressure.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A method of forming a three-dimensional (3D) tactile sensor, comprising: providing a first substrate material for the 3D tactile sensor; defining a set of first conductive regions for the 3D tactile sensor on the first substrate material; coupling a separator layer between the first substrate material including the set of first conductive regions and a second substrate material having a set of second conductive regions to create a stack; and forming the stack into a target 3D structure.

Facts

Company
Tesla (Tesla, Inc.)
Official title
THREE-DIMENSIONAL SOFT COMPLIANT ARRAY TACTILE SENSOR WITH MULTI-MODAL SENSING AND SCALABLE MANUFACTURING METHODS
Publication number
US20260310299A1
Application number
19326524
Filed
Sep 11, 2025
Published
Oct 8, 2026
Inventors
12
Claims
20

Classified under

G06F 3/016 Physics & computingG06F 3/014 Physics & computingG06F 3/0446 Physics & computingG06F 2203/04103 Physics & computing
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.