The perception layer is a key link in the humanoid robot, which integrates a variety of sensors to provide comprehensive external and internal perception capabilities.
Sensors enable humanoid robots to interact with the external environment through touch, sight, and hearing, as well as to perceive their own real-time status.
At present, sensors are used in large quantities and relatively high cost in humanoid robots. In the case of Tesla's Optimus robot, the cost of various sensors accounts for nearly 30%.
As humanoid robots accelerate into the development stage, the sensor industry will also usher in broad development opportunities.
China's leading humanoid robot manufacturers, including UBTECH, Davalve, Zhiyuan, Fourier, Unitree, Dreame and Xiaomi, have widely adopted various sensors.
List of sensor solutions adopted by some manufacturers of humanoid robots:
Source: Public collation
This article focuses on the three core sensors of humanoid robots, as well as the market competition pattern and related leaders, for your reference!
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1. Tactile sensor
The robot's tactile sensing system is a way to detect and measure the characteristics of objects through physical contact, which can help the robot perceive and understand its surroundings.
Tactile sensors are able to directly detect the interaction between the robot and the environment, such as contact force, temperature, material hardness and softness of the object.
As an important supplement to visual sensing, tactile sensors can enable robots to perceive the shape, texture and other physical characteristics of objects through touch, so as to carry out precise grasping operations, and are widely used in robot joints, flexible skin and other fields.
In principle, an array of tactile sensors converts various physical waveform signals into current or voltage waveforms, which are then processed by digital circuits and transmitted in the form of electromagnetic waves. At the receiving end, another sensor captures these signals and converts them back into the desired form of information.
Tactile sensors are highly dependent on whether they are flexible or not, so flexible tactile sensors tend to have a higher value.
The manufacturing of flexible tactile sensors faces many challenges, mainly in terms of materials and manufacturing processes. On the material side, it is necessary to solve the problem of how to achieve multi-dimensional force detection while maintaining flexibility. In the manufacturing process, it is necessary to ensure that the sensor can still correctly identify critical parameters such as torque and temperature in the case of tension, extrusion and torsional deformation.
Dismantling of the structure of the flexible tactile sensor:
Source: Mems Consulting
In terms of the global market structure, the right to speak in flexible sensor technology is in the hands of European and American companies, and the world's three leading manufacturers include Novasentis, Tekscan, JDI, etc.
Domestic flexible sensors are mainly used in the field of consumer electronics, and the application in the field of humanoid robots is still in the verification and testing stage, and has not yet been applied on a large scale.
Flexible tactile sensor related enterprises and layout:
Source: GGII
2. a force sensor
Force/Torque SensorTorque sensors enable the robot to autonomously adjust its posture when performing operations, thus ensuring the stability and accuracy of the operation.
Torque sensors are important for robots to realize force perception. Humanoid robots simulate tactile perception through active force control technology, and force sensors are the preferred way to achieve precise force control.
Through the combination of a force sensor and a closed-loop control algorithm, the robot is able to precisely control the force. According to the installation position of the sensor, the force control mode can be divided into two types: end force control and joint force control. End-of-line force control is the installation of a one- or six-dimensional force sensor at the end of a robotic arm.
Among them, the six-dimensional force sensor provides the highest dimensional force sensing information, which can give the most comprehensive and accurate force sensing data.
The strong demand in the robot market has driven the number of suppliers of six-dimensional torque sensors to increase year by year, but due to high technical barriers, the number of manufacturers with mass product supply capacity is still very limited. According to MIR data, in 2023, the shipments and market size of six-dimensional force sensors in mainland China will reach 9,450 units and 235 million yuan, respectively.
In 2023, the revenue share of six-dimensional force sensor manufacturers in the Chinese market will be as follows:
Source: MIR
3. IMU inertial sensor
The IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) is the key to keeping the robot balanced and walking steadily. The application of IMU sensors in the industry is mainly in three aspects: inertial navigation, inertial measurement and inertial stable control, which are fully adapted to humanoid robots.
The inertial sensor can monitor the movement status of the robot in real time to ensure timely adjustment according to the actual situation.
The key parts of the IMU include the gyroscope and accelerometer, which are also the main BOM costs. In terms of hardware, gyroscopes are difficult to manufacture, and the main challenge in software lies in algorithm control, and the on-board IMU has higher requirements in terms of accuracy and bias stability than the IMU on the robot. #人形机器人 ##机器人##科技##财经##传感器#
Global Inertial Sensor Market Competitive Landscape:
At present, international manufacturers still dominate the MEMS IMU market in mainland China, such as giants such as Bosch, ST and TDK. In the domestic IMU market, Sirui Technology is the largest manufacturer, and Silan Micro and MEMSIC Semiconductor also occupy an important market share. In addition, in the magnetometer market, in addition to foreign manufacturers such as Honeywell, domestic manufacturers such as Duowei Technology and Senodia Semiconductor are also accelerating their layout.
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