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Monday 11 May 2026
Robotics with a Human Touch: How Sarcomere Dynamics is Engineering the Holy Grail of Automation
The human hand is an engineering marvel. With up to 27 degrees of freedom, it can perform tasks ranging from heavy lifting to the delicate threading of a needle. Replicating this dexterity in a machine has long been considered the "Holy Grail" of robotics. At the upcoming COMPUTEX 2026, one Canadian startup is set to demonstrate that this goal is finally within reach. Sarcomere Dynamics, founded in 2021, is bridging the gap between mechanical rigidity and human-like finesse by combining sophisticated hardware with what industry experts call "Embodied  AI" where software intelligence is translated into high-performance, real-world  interaction. CEO Harpal Mandaher, a 32-year veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, discussed the company's journey from a student project to a pioneer in the next generation of robotics. From a Son's Vision to Industrial RealityThe story of Sarcomere Dynamics is a family affair. The company was founded by Harpal's son, Avtar, the current CTO, while he was studying at the University of British Columbia. Initially, the mission was deeply personal: to create an affordable, highly functional prosthetic hand for upper-limb amputees. "The first prototype was sophisticated, with 11 degrees of freedom," Harpal explains. "But it was  too complex for a patient to control easily. However, we noticed immediate interest from industrial players who saw the potential for this hand to automate assembly, sorting, and pick-and-place tasks". Seeing the opportunity to impact both the medical and industrial sectors, Harpal and his wife, Nancy - also a military veteran and retired professional nurse - joined as initial investors and co-founders. Solving the Weight-to-Power PuzzleMost robotic grippers today are simple "pinchers" designed for specific repeating tasks in controlled settings, but not suitable for complex manipulation of objects of different sizes, shapes, textures, or weights. For these high-mix tasks, the human hand is ideal. To create a hand that truly replicates human capabilities, Sarcomere had to overcome significant mechanical hurdles. "Ideally, for every movement, you need a motor," says Harpal. "Juggling 27 motors leads to massive problems such as heat, weight, interference, and movement control".  Their solution, the Artus robotic hand, is a masterclass in compact engineering: 1. Form Factor: the size of an average human male's hand (it is actually modelled off the CTO's hand). 2. Lightweight: Weighing only 1.1 kg to 1.4 kg, the Artus hand can be used on smaller, more cost-effective robotic arms without exhausting their payload capacity. 3. Durability: Rated for millions of cycles in industrial applications. Key structural components are reinforced with aircraft-grade aluminum to handle payloads up to 20 kg. The Move to Embodied  AI and "Artificial Skin"Dexterity is nothing without a sense of touch. Sarcomere is currently working with technology partners like Nanosen (Germany) to integrate a layer of "artificial skin" over the hand. This thin sensor layer allows the robot to feel grip force and detect proximity, adding a critical layer of safety. "If someone touches the back of the robot arm, the machine will know," Harpal notes. "It can pause or react, just as a human would". This technology is paving the way for Teleoperation in hazardous environments. By wearing a haptic glove, a technician in a safe zone can control the robotic hand naturally and intuitively from a distance. Inside the glove are tiny inflating bubbles to provide tactile feedback (sense of touch), allowing the operator to "feel" what the robot is touching - a gamechanger for nuclear decommissioning, bomb disposal, or handling hazardous chemicals. Why Taiwan?As Sarcomere Dynamics eyes global scale, Taiwan sits at the center of their roadmap. Their presence in Taipei for COMPUTEX underscores the island's growing role as the indispensable foundation for the next generation of robotics. Harpal is focused on three key goals, including securing supply chain resilience, exploring the potential to outsource manufacturing and assembly to Taiwan's world-class OEM ecosystem, as well as to find "embodied  AI" experts and local robotic arm manufacturers to create integrated, plug-and-play systems."We haven't lost sight of why this started," Harpal says. "As we harden the technology for industrial use, we're continuing prosthetics development in parallel, so the same advances in dexterity, sensing, and control translate into a more capable and more affordable prosthetic hand.  "
Monday 11 May 2026
Secure City Solutions: The Canadian Firm Revolutionizing High-Stakes Video Data
In the high-stakes world of global security and emergency response, the shift toward "video-centric" operations has created a massive technical bottleneck: the struggle to transmit high-quality data over narrow, unreliable bandwidth. Secure City Solutions, a Canadian fast-growing company, is bridging this gap between military-grade demands and smart city infrastructure.In an exclusive interview, Siva Kumar, CEO of Secure City Solutions, explained why Taiwan plays an essential role in the company's global expansion, and why he has signed up to attend COMPUTEX 2026 in Taipei in June. "We not only want to address the Taiwan market, but we're also looking for hardware manufacturers for our global deployment."The company was born from a specific challenge faced by founders with deep military and defense backgrounds, including former General Dynamics leadership and a Colonel in the Canadian defense forces. They recognized that whether in a military conflict or a law enforcement pursuit, personnel often struggled to send big data over radios with low bandwidth. This led to the development of a unique solution designed to deliver forensic-quality video from one point to another without losing the essential details required for legal and operational use.At the heart of their offering is the Omni Compressor, a neural-type algorithm that drastically shrinks the digital footprint of video data. While traditional compression often drops frames or reduces resolution to save space, Secure City's technology maintains the original frame rate and resolution. This is a critical distinction for law enforcement, as compromised video quality is often inadmissible in court. Beyond the legal sector, the compression allows commercial entities like banks to store eight to nine times more footage on existing hardware without losing clarity. The company also claims to reduce costs by 75% compared to other solutions.The real-world impact of this technology is already visible in major global deployments, such as with the Dubai Police and over 45 other law enforcement agencies. The software allows police units to share live video from patrol cars or body cameras over weak wireless spectrums, ensuring that backup units can monitor officers entering dangerous areas. Firefighters have also adopted the technology, using helmet-mounted cameras to transmit live feeds to commanders who guide them through burning structures to rescue civilians. Even in rural areas where 5G is unavailable, the algorithm automatically adjusts to available bandwidth and uses high error correction to keep feeds stable despite network noise or jitter.As artificial intelligence becomes more prevalent in surveillance, Secure City Solutions serves as a vital performance booster. By reducing data sizes - for instance, from 100MB to 10MB - while maintaining original quality, the software allows AI models to process information and produce results much faster than they could with uncompressed files.Looking toward the future, Kumar is exploring strategic partnerships in Taiwan to address local needs for data sovereignty and hardware manufacturing. While the company has been successfully bootstrapped by its conservative, veteran leadership, they are now open to strategic investors to fuel a more rapid global expansion into new verticals like transportation and medical services. Secure City Solutions aims to ensure that no matter how narrow the pipe, the most critical data always gets through.
Monday 11 May 2026
From Basement to Deep Space: How AON3D is Redefining High-Performance 3D Printing
Montreal-based AON3D is setting a new standard through its mastery of high-performance materials and precision 3D printing technology.Co-founded in 2015 by Andrew Walker, Randeep Singh, and Kevin Han - who started the company in his family's basement - AON3D has evolved into a global leader in high-performance additive manufacturing.With an eye on the Taiwan market at COMPUTEX 2026, Han and his team are ready to bridge the gap between complex aerospace technology and the agile SME ecosystem.The Materials Engineer's VisionKevin Han's journey began at McGill University with a background in materials engineering. After operating as a service bureau, Han recognized a gap in the market for machines capable of handling specialized materials. Through multiple product iterations, AON3D today offers it's Hylo High-Temperature 3D Printer, along with Basis, it's advanced physics simulation software for additive manufacturing. Hylo and Basis: AI-Infused and Physics-BasedAON3D's product suite offers an AI-infused manufacturing solution that reduces the trial and error usually experienced in additive manufacturing processes. "What we do is actually model out at the physics level what's going to happen as you run the print job," says Han. "Our technology creates a digital twin of the print, meaning we can use simulation to identify process irregularities that lead to hidden defects, instead of in post-production."Within the Basis platform, simulated data and real data are also compared to offer automatic optimizations. The Power of "Open Materials"AON3D's primary competitive advantage is its "Open Materials" philosophy. Unlike competitors that "lock" users into proprietary, expensive filament spools - much like the cartridges on a paper-based printer - AON3D's platform is supply-agnostic. "We support the full gamut of industrial polymers, but many customers are most interested by high-performance varieties like PEEK, PEKK, and PEI (Ultem)," Han explains. "This includes their carbon and glass-fibre variants, where strength and lightweighting benefits most appeal to demanding industries like aerospace and defense." From NASA to the Factory FloorAON3D's credentials extend to outer space. The company has worked with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to print components for the International Space Station, and their parts were aboard the Artemis 1 mission.Closer to home, AON3D's solutions are used by customers like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, and more in aerospace, while also offering benefits to automotive, energy, and general manufacturing. One automotive customer saw full payback under 2 months for their first Hylo purchase, and is eagerly awaiting more. Leveraging Taiwan's EcosystemAt COMPUTEX 2026, AON3D aims to connect with Taiwan's semiconductor packaging and testing sectors. Beyond chips, they see massive potential in Taiwan's drone industry and medical prosthesis field. Hylo's ability to "light-weight" components makes it ideal for rapid drone iteration.  "We want to bring capabilities to a group that didn't have them before," Han concludes. AON3D isn't just selling a printer; they are offering a gateway to the next generation of industrial manufacturing.