Play videoVTAP Gripper: Synergizing Fingertip Sensing and a Visuo-Tactile Active Palm for Dexterous In-Hand Manipulation
IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2026
Sheeraz AtharPostdoctoral Researcher · University of Notre Dame
I build robots
that can feel.
I work with Prof. Nikolaus Correll in Notre Dame's Physical AI & Robotics (PAIR) Initiative on dexterous robotic hands. I design tactile sensors, soft mechanisms, and the learning pipelines that let robots understand contact — and I test all of it on real hardware, from millimeter-scale surgical sensors to a full-size underwater robot.
Previously Ph.D. at Purdue with Prof. Yu She · M.Phil. at HKUST · B.E. at Aligarh Muslim University
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Research
Most robots can see the world but can't feel it. My work closes that gap from both ends — sensors that capture rich contact information, and hands and mechanisms that can act on it.
Current focus
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Dexterous hands & grasping
Hands and grippers that sense and adapt while they touch — from a visuo-tactile active palm to in-hand reorientation of syringes and millimeter-scale parts.
VTAP Gripper · IROS 2026 Best Paper Finalist · Notre Dame PAIR
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Multimodal tactile sensing
Fingertips that fuse geometry, force, vibration, and texture in one device.
VisTac · VibTac · MuxGel
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Soft & bio-inspired robotics
Fiber-embedded and auxetic structures that deform safely and sense as they move.
FibTac · npj Robotics 2026
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Underwater robotics
One robot that drifts, glides, and thrusts — built for long missions.
ASME IDETC 2026 · patent pending
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Surgical tactile sensing
Millimeter-scale sensors that bring touch to minimally invasive surgery.
TacScope · MVP-Tac
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→
All publications
Filter by topic, watch the videos, find the code.
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All publications →
Selected work
Play videoPlay videoFibTac: A Fiber-Based Pneumatic Gripper with Embodied Tactile Sensing
npj Robotics, vol. 4, art. 47, 2026 · Open access
Design and Development of a Multimodal Underwater Robot: An All-In-One Drifter, Glider, and Thruster
ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences, 2026 · NSF-funded
Play videoVibTac: A High-Resolution, High-Bandwidth Tactile Sensing Finger for Multimodal Perception in Robotic Manipulation
IEEE Transactions on Haptics, vol. 18, pp. 507–518, 2025
Play videoVisTac: Towards a Unified Multimodal Sensing Finger for Robotic Manipulation
IEEE Sensors Journal, vol. 23, no. 20, pp. 25440–25450, 2023
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News
- Oct 2026★ VTAP Gripper named a Best Paper Award Finalist at IROS 2026.
- Sep 2026Joined the University of Notre Dame as a Postdoctoral Researcher with Prof. Nikolaus Correll, working on dexterous robotic hands.
- Sep 2026Our underwater robot was featured by Purdue Newsroom and WLFI TV.
- Aug 2026Graduated with a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University.
- Aug 2026FibTac published in npj Robotics (Nature Portfolio).
- Jun 2026Three papers accepted at IROS 2026 — VTAP Gripper, MVP-Tac, and MuxGel.
- May 2026Successfully defended my Ph.D. dissertation on May 27.
- 2026VTAP Gripper won 2nd Prize at the ASME Student Mechanism & Robot Design Competition.
- 2026Underwater robot paper accepted at ASME IDETC/CIE 2026.
- Apr 2025Passed my Ph.D. Preliminary Examination at Purdue.
- 2025VibTac published in IEEE Transactions on Haptics; TacScope in Advanced Robotics Research.
- Jun 2024Our tactile sensing work was featured in Purdue College of Agriculture News.
- 2023VisTac published in IEEE Sensors Journal.
- Aug 2022Started my Ph.D. at Purdue University in the MARS Lab.
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Path
2026 — now
University of Notre Dame
Postdoctoral Researcher · PAIR Initiative with Prof. Nikolaus Correll
2022 — 2026
Purdue University
Ph.D., Industrial Engineering · MARS Lab with Prof. Yu She
2019 — 2022
HKUST
M.Phil., Robotics · Cheng Kar-Shun Robotics Institute with Prof. Michael Yu Wang
2016 — 2020
Aligarh Muslim University
B.E., Mechanical Engineering