We give machines the sense of touch
About Bota Systems
Bota Systems is a Swiss robotics technology company building force and torque sensing solutions that help robots interact with the physical world safely and naturally.
Rooted in leading robotics research, we combine scientific rigor with practical engineering to support industry, research, and Physical AI applications worldwide.
While the last decade was about teaching robots to see, the next decade is about teaching them to feel. Bota Systems provides the high-performance “sense of touch” required for the next generation of Physical AI.
Origin Story
Born from Robotics Research. Built for the Real World.
Bota Systems is a spin-off of the Robotic Systems Lab at ETH Zürich, founded by Klajd Lika, Ilias Patsiaouras, and Marco Hutter.
The company emerged from years of academic research into force-torque sensing for legged, mobile, and collaborative robots — and the need to bring this technology out of the lab and into real-world robotic systems.
This foundation gives us a rare combination of deep research expertise and practical engineering focus.
Company Milestones
2013
First Multi-Axis Force Torque Sensor
Prototype multi-axis force torque sensor developed for legged robots and research platforms.
HAKI Sensor
Development of the HAKI sensor, the predecessor of Rokubi.
2015
2015
Platform Expansion
Expansion of sensing solutions: Joint torque sensor series, 1-axis force sensors, Tactile sensing technologies
2016
ETH Robotics Systems Lab Collaboration
Collaboration with ETH Robotics Systems Lab to equip the ANYmal robot with Rokubi force torque sensing.
Sensor Commercialization
First commercial products released: Rokubi, SensONE.
2019
2020
ETH Zürich Spin-off
Bota Systems AG founded as an ETH Zürich spin-off.
Product Portfolio Expansion
Launch of new force torque sensors: Medusa, LaxONE, MegaONE
2022
2023
New Facilities
Expansion of production and engineering facilities. Capacity increase and scaling of operations.
Market Expansion
Introduction of additional products: MiniONE, MiniONE Pro.
Opening of Athens subsidiary.
Opening of Customer Experience Center in Fremont CA.
2024
Complete Force Sensing Ecosystem
Positioning Bota Systems as a one-stop shop for force sensing in robotics, supporting: Humanoid robots, Industrial robots, Physical AI platforms
Future
2013
First Multi-Axis Force Torque Sensor
Prototype multi-axis force torque sensor developed for legged robots and research platforms.
2015
Platform Expansion
Expansion of sensing solutions: Joint torque sensor series, 1-axis force sensors, Tactile sensing technologies,.
2016
ETH Robotics Systems Lab Collaboration
Collaboration with ETH Robotics Systems Lab to equip the ANYmal robot with Rokubi force torque sensing.
2020
ETH Zürich Spin-off
Bota Systems AG founded as an ETH Zürich spin-off.
2023
New Facilities
Expansion of production and engineering facilities. Capacity increase and scaling of operations.
HAKI Sensor
Development of the HAKI sensor, the predecessor of Rokubi.
2015
Sensor Commercialization
First commercial products released: Rokubi, SensONE.
2019
Product Portfolio Expansion
Launch of new force torque sensors: Medusa, LaxONE, MegaONE.
2022
Market Expansion
Introduction of additional products: MiniONE, MiniONE Pro.
Opening of Athens subsidiary.
Opening of Customer Experience Center in Fremont CA.
2024
Complete Force Sensing Ecosystem
Positioning Bota Systems as a one-stop shop for force sensing in robotics, supporting: Humanoid robots, Industrial robots, Physical AI platforms
Future
Publications
Bota Systems was born from robotics research, building on years of peer-reviewed work in force sensing, manipulation, locomotion, and physical interaction. The publications below form the scientific foundation of our technology.
Task and Configuration Space Compliance of Continuum Robots via Lie Group and Modal Shape Formulations
ANYexo 2.0: A fully actuated upper-limb exoskeleton for manipulation and joint-oriented training in all stages of rehabilitation
IEEE Transactions on Robotics (2023)
Adaptive Force Controller for Contact-Rich Robotic Systems using an Unscented Kalman Filter
arXiv preprint arXiv:2207.01033 (2022)
Bistable helical origami gripper for sensor placement on branches
Real-time non-visual shape estimation and robotic dual-arm manipulation control of an elastic wire.
Robotic assembly of timber joints using reinforcement learning
Quadrupedal Locomotion on Uneven Terrain With Sensorized Feet
Valsecchi, Giorgio, Ruben Grandia, and Marco Hutter.
IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters 5, no. 2 (2020): 1548-1555.
Towards autonomous inspection of concrete deterioration in sewers with legged robots
Kolvenbach, Hendrik, David Wisth, Russell Buchanan, Giorgio Valsecchi, Ruben Grandia, Maurice Fallon, and Marco Hutter.
Journal of field robotics 37, no. 8 (2020): 1314-1327.
Where Should I Walk? Predicting Terrain Properties from Images via Self-Supervised Learning
IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters 4, no. 2 (2019): 1509-1516.
An Omnidirectional Aerial Manipulation Platform for Contact-Based Inspection
Bodie, Karen, Maximilian Brunner, Michael Pantic, Stefan Walser, Patrick Pfändler, Ueli Angst, Roland Siegwart, and Juan Nieto
Towards a passive adaptive planar foot with ground orientation and contact force sensing for legged robots
Käslin, Roman, Hendrik Kolvenbach, Laura Paez, Klajd Lika, and Marco Hutter.
IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), pp. 2707-2714. IEEE, 2018
Low-velocity impact response of smart sandwich composite plates with piezoelectric tranducers: Modeling and experiments
Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures 27, no. 6 (2016): 774-785.
CAREERS AT BOTA SYSTEMS
We’re Building the Future of Force-Sensitive Robotics
Our team brings together experts in robotics, mechanical design, electronics, and software — united by the goal of making force sensing reliable, accessible, and scalable.