Compared to other transmission components, the harmonic gear drive has a high transmission ratio, small size, and light weight, making it more suitable for application in robot joint modules. The surge in popularity of humanoid robots will bring new opportunities for harmonic gear drives.
Enhancing Motion Performance
As a highly complex intelligent device, the motion performance of a humanoid robot is crucial. Harmonic gear drives play a key role in converting high-speed, low-torque power into low-speed, high-torque output. This feature allows humanoid robots to better adapt to various load requirements in different work scenarios.
For example, when a humanoid robot needs to carry heavy objects, the harmonic gear drive can convert the high-speed power generated by the motor into a suitable low-speed, high-torque output, ensuring that the robot can stably complete tasks. Market research data shows that the motion performance of humanoid robots using harmonic gear drives is significantly improved compared to robots that do not, enabling more precise motion control and higher work efficiency.
Precise Control of Key Parts
In areas such as the lower arm, wrist, and hand of humanoid robots, the application of harmonic gear drive is particularly important. These parts usually require precise motion control to complete various intricate tasks. For instance, Tesla uses harmonic gear drives as the core component of rotating joints in its humanoid robots to achieve higher motion control and precision performance in these key areas. The high-precision characteristics of harmonic gear drives allow the robot's hand to accurately grasp and manipulate small objects, such as electronic components.
Additionally, in the motion control of the lower arm and wrist, harmonic gear drives ensure the smoothness and accuracy of actions, improving the robot's work quality. Statistics indicate that the precision control of key parts in humanoid robots using harmonic gear drives can reach millimeter levels, significantly expanding the application range and practicality of the robots.
Increased Demand Driven by Mass Production of Humanoid Robots
The trend of mass production of humanoid robots is becoming increasingly evident, which will bring immense market demand for harmonic gear drives. According to relevant data, the global investment in the research and development of humanoid robots continuously increased in 2022, with many tech companies laying out plans in this field. It is expected that in the coming years, the production of humanoid robots will see explosive growth.
As humanoid robots achieve mass production, the demand for harmonic gear drives will rise substantially. Take Tesla's Optimus as an example, where 28 actuators in the entire body include 14 rotary actuators, each containing a harmonic gear drive. With such configurations, the number of harmonic gear drives required per humanoid robot is noteworthy. Market predictions suggest that when the mass production of humanoid robots is realized, the market size for harmonic gear drives will experience explosive growth.
By 2030, the production of humanoid robots is expected to reach 660,000 units, corresponding to a market for harmonic gear drives growing from 90 million yuan in 2024 to 11.5 billion yuan. In the long term, when the production of humanoid robots further increases to a level of tens of millions of units, the corresponding market size for harmonic gear drives will reach trillions of yuan.
Continuous Technological Innovation
Companies continue to focus on the field of harmonic gear drives, constantly overcoming technical bottlenecks and improving product performance. In terms of gear design, they have developed new gear shapes to enhance transmission accuracy and load-bearing capacity. Regarding material selection, companies are continuously exploring high-performance materials to extend the fatigue life of the flexspline. Moreover, in processing technology, companies are enhancing product precision and stability by introducing advanced equipment and independently developing processing techniques.
With ongoing technological innovation, the performance of harmonic gear drives continues to improve. In addition, harmonic gear drives will be applied in more high-end manufacturing fields, such as aerospace, medical equipment, semiconductor equipment, and others. This will bring new opportunities and challenges to harmonic gear drives, driving continuous innovation and development in the industry.
