methods and apparatuses for calibrating and teaching a robot to accurately work within a work environment . the present invention preferably provides one or more tactile sensor devices that may be operatively coupled with a robot or positioned at one or more desired locations within a work environment of the robot . in one aspect of the present invention a method comprises the steps of providing a touch sensitive surface in the work environment , causing the touch sensitive surface to contact an object , generating a signal indicative of the position of the contact with respect to the touch sensitive surface , and using information comprising the generated signal to teach the robot the location of the contact in the work environment .