What tacterion does

tacterion GmbH is a Munich-based tactile sensing company founded in 2015 as a spin-off of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) by brothers Michael and Daniel Strohmayr. The company develops and commercializes plyon®, a patented hybrid resistive-capacitive flexible sensor technology that combines proximity, touch, and force measurement in a single thin layer (0.5-0.7mm), with proprietary features including TrueZero™ (signal integrity maintained under bending to a 1cm radius) and HFC™ (drift-free static load readout). tacterion sells to enterprise customers in automotive interiors, power tools, consumer/home appliances, robotics, and industrial wearables, and distributes standardized sensor modules and development kits through its e-commerce store and channel partners.

The business model spans multiple revenue streams: standardized hardware sales (plyon® flex and stretch sensor modules, IPM™ 2.0 integration modules), professional services for custom sensor and end-to-end solution development, development kits priced at €899, and recurring software revenue through the Tactile Brain cloud analytics platform. Strategic investors from the 2021 Series A — Miele Venture Capital GmbH and an unnamed global power tool manufacturer — are simultaneously customers, anchoring commercial relationships in premium domestic appliances and power tools. The company also pursues distribution partnerships (TE Connectivity globally, TOKAI Electronics in Japan) and active event-driven demand generation across IAA Munich, Automotive Interiors Expo, Sensors Converge, LOPEC, and Car-ele Japan.

Since 2022 the company has expanded beyond hardware into software-adjacent offerings: skillflow, an AI-enabled worker-assistance wearable for digitizing manual assembly, and Tactile Brain, a cloud analytics hub for tactile data. In July 2023, Daniel Strohmayr stepped back from commercial management and Andreas Hoffmann joined as Commercial Managing Director to lead commercial scaling. Headcount remains modest (Munich HQ with team expanded to more than a dozen nationalities by 2022), and revenue, funding amounts, and valuation are not publicly disclosed.

Name

tacterion

Legal name

tacterion GmbH

Website

https://tacterion.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

tacterion GmbH is a Munich-based tactile-sensing company founded in 2015 as a DLR spin-off, commercializing plyon® hybrid resistive-capacitive flexible sensors for enterprise customers in automotive interiors, power tools, consumer appliances, robotics, and industrial wearables.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Flexible Tactile Sensors

NAICS

Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)

akta.pro primary industry

Pressure & Force Sensors (Pressure/Strain/Load Cells) (HDAHALAB)

Keywords

• Flexible tactile sensors
• Force sensing technology
• Smart surface solutions
• Human-machine interaction
• Industrial wearable sensors

Headquarters

HQ city

Munich

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Sensor Hardware Sales: Sale of plyon® flex sensors and plyon® stretch sensors in various standard layouts (Stripe, Square, Medium, Array, Slider). Sensors are sold as standardized modules for direct integration.
2. Development Kits: Sale of development kits including experience boards, sensor sample kits, jumper wires, cables, and support hours. plyon® flex Devkit priced at €899.00 EUR. plyon® stretch Devkit available for €899.00 EUR.
3. Custom Sensor Module Development: In close collaboration with customers, new sensor modules are developed based on their requirements and parameters. High quantity orders can be modified for specific requirements.
4. End-to-End Integrated Solutions: Full-stack tactile sensing solutions including sensor development, module development, sensor production, module implementation, integrated electronics design, software development, and data analytics. Services include Product & UX Design, Sensor Layouting, Module Development, Sensor Production, Module Implementation, Integrated Electronics Design, Software Development, and Data Analytics.
5. Tactile Brain Cloud Platform: Software and cloud computing interface for sensor data processing, analytics, and machine learning. Provides real-time local sensor data processing, multiple edge device monitoring, and process step validation.
6. IPM™ Integration Modules: Integrated Plyon Module products for mechanical button replacement and seamless product integration. Hardware modules sold as tailored integration solutions for serial products.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

tacterion develops and manufactures flexible tactile sensor technology called plyon®, which combines resistive and capacitive sensing principles in a single flexible layer to enable proximity, touch, and force measurement. The company sells standardized sensor modules (plyon® flex and plyon® stretch in Stripe, Square, Medium, Array and Slider formats), integration modules (IPM 2.0), development kits, the Tactile Brain cloud analytics platform, and tailored end-to-end solutions for industrial OEMs.

Product overview

tacterion is a tactile sensing company offering a unified platform-plus-modules architecture centered on its plyon® sensor technology. The core plyon® flex and plyon® stretch sensors combine resistive and capacitive sensing principles in a single flexible layer. Supporting modules include IPM 2.0 for seamless product integration, DevKits for development prototyping, and the Tactile Brain analytics hub. The company also offers skillflow as an intelligent worker assistance wearable and taroki as a tactile robotics kit. TrueZero™ and HFC™ are key technology features enabling signal integrity under bending and drift-free readout respectively.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• plyon: Proprietary tactile sensor technology platform combining resistive and capacitive sensing principles for proximity, touch, and force measurement. Available as plyon flex and plyon stretch variants.
• Skillflow
• IPM
• Tactile Brain

Products and services

• plyon® flex sensors Flexible proximity, touch, and force sensors combining resistive and capacitive sensing in a single flexible layer, with TrueZero™ and HFC™ features. Available in standardized layouts (Stripe, Square, Medium, Array, Slider) for OEM integration into curved surfaces and dynamic applications.
• plyon® stretch sensors Stretchable variant of the plyon® sensor technology for applications requiring stretchable sensor surfaces, sold as standardized modules for OEM integration.
• IPM™ 2.0 (Integrated Plyon Module) Modular integration module for embedding plyon® sensors into serial products, with a 3-layer architecture (interaction surface, sensor core, base) and freedom of choice between various elastomers and 2K-compounds. Designed as a mechanical button replacement solution.
• plyon® flex DevKit

Quantifiable outcome

• Sensors can be bent to radius of 1 cm while maintaining full measurement range (TrueZero™)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability4 records

Feature8 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Interlink Electronics: Long-standing manufacturer of force-sensing resistor (FSR) technology and printed polymer sensors. Directly comparable as a force/touch sensor specialist competing for similar HMI, industrial, and medical design wins as tacterion's plyon® platform.
• SynTouch: Developer of tactile sensors and BioTac biomimetic fingertips for robotic grippers and human-machine interaction. Comparable to tacterion's robotics and skillflow/wearable offerings in bringing the sense of touch to machines.
• Pressure Profile Systems: Designs and manufactures tactile pressure and force sensors, including flexible and array-based sensors for medical, robotics, and industrial applications. Directly comparable niche competitor in capacitive and piezoresistive tactile sensing.
• Tekscan: Specializes in thin-film pressure mapping and tactile force sensors used in automotive HMI, medical, and industrial applications. Closely comparable in offering thin, flexible pressure/touch sensors with similar end-customers to tacterion.
• Sensitronics: Manufacturer of force-sensing resistors and custom sensor solutions serving industrial, medical, and OEM markets. Comparable as a tactile/force sensor vendor with custom integration capabilities similar to tacterion's enterprise motion.

Emerging players

• BeBop Sensors: Developer of flexible fabric and wearable sensors for haptics, gesture recognition, and pressure mapping. Comparable in targeting flexible/wearable force-sensing applications and AR/VR haptics similar to plyon® stretch and Skillflow.
• Contactile: UK-based startup offering optical tactile sensors for robotic grippers with multi-axis force and vibration sensing. Comparable emerging player targeting the same robotic dexterity and human-machine collaboration use cases as tacterion's taroki kit.
• Canatu: Finland-based company producing flexible conductive films and 3D touch sensors for automotive interiors, consumer electronics, and wearables. Comparable as an emerging flexible HMI sensor platform targeting the same automotive and consumer design wins as tacterion.

Broad incumbents

• TE Connectivity: Global multi-billion-dollar sensor and connector giant with a broad portfolio including pressure, position, and connectivity sensors. Functions as both tacterion's distribution partner and a large incumbent competitor in industrial sensor markets.
• ams-OSRAM: Global sensor and optoelectronic semiconductor company offering force, position, and environmental sensors for automotive, industrial, and consumer markets. Comparable as a broad incumbent sensor manufacturer whose solutions intersect with tacterion's smart-surface use cases.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC1BQaKuInwXzLe4hO0n24mA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tacterion
• Xx.com/tacterion
• Facebookfacebook.com/tacterion

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about tacterion