Methods and apparatuses for calibrating and teaching a robot to accurately work within a work environment are described. The present invention preferably provides one or more vibration sensor devices operatively coupled with a robot. In one aspect of the present invention a method comprises the steps of providing a vibration sensitive detector on a robot end effector, causing the end effector to contact an object, generating a signal indicative of the position of the contact with respect to the end effector, and using information comprising the generated signal to teach the robot the location of the contact in the work environment.