Tesla Optimus 2nd generation update: Will six-dimensional force sensors for humanoid robots usher in a big explosion?

The recent update of the Tesla Optimus Gen2 humanoid robot has attracted widespread attention in the industry. Judging from the official video exposure, the walking speed of Optimus Gen2 is 30% higher than that of the previous generation, and in addition to performing yoga movements on one leg, It can also achieve a 90-degree squat smoothly. The dexterous hand constructed with 11 degrees of freedom is equipped with visual tactile sensing function as its biggest highlight.

If you look back at the first-generation product 9 months ago, you will find that the first-generation Tesla Optimus was more like a semi-finished product. When it came to the stage, it could barely walk and wave to everyone. In the next few months of evolution, depth visual perception technology blessing, motion capture technology application, and dexterous hand grasping will be fully evolved. Optimus Gen2 goes one step further in imitating anthropomorphic behaviors, with significant improvements in weight and flexibility.

In 2022, at Tesla AI Day, Elon Musk boldly proposed to complete millions of shipments within 3-5 years, and set the terminal price of the product at US$25,000. Now, Tesla seems to be getting closer and closer to this goal.

▍The humanoid robot track explodes, and the compound annual growth rate of six-dimensional force sensors exceeds 50%

Behind the steady-state walking ability of Optimus Gen2 comes from the new design of the robot's feet. Added foot force/torque sensing function. Through the six-dimensional force sensor, the robot has strong tactile feedback. In order to steadily improve, enhance the flexibility of the robot during walking and improve the stability of walking.

From the overall market perspective, is subject to the intelligent transformation of the manufacturing industry. The demand for six-dimensional force sensors has surged in recent years, doubling every year. Six-dimensional force sensors are widely used in the fields of intelligent manufacturing, medical surgical robots, aerospace material processing, collaborative robot polishing and polishing scenarios, and humanoid robots. has grown from an early annual sales of less than a hundred units to the current annual sales The volume exceeded 8,000 units, with a compound growth rate of over 50%. Relevant data predicts that the sales volume of six-dimensional force sensors will successfully exceed 10,000 units in the next year, reaching 15,000 units.

As of December 2023, more than 30 domestic humanoid robot products have been unveiled, and some of them have already entered small-scale delivery. In November, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Guiding Opinions on the Innovation and Development of Humanoid Robots", which elevated humanoid robots to a national strategic level. China's humanoid robot industry will usher in explosive growth in the next 2-3 years.

Tesla’s first-generation product body structure and sensor unit (the second-generation foot is speculated to add a six-dimensional force sensor to achieve steady walking)

According to the working principle of humanoid robots, On average, each humanoid robot requires 26 one-dimensional force sensors, 10 rotating joint torque sensors and 4 six-dimensional force sensors. If it is estimated that China's humanoid robot market will reach one million sales in 2030, then the number of new six-dimensional force sensors alone is expected to exceed 4 million, and the market size will reach 100 billion. .

▍Can domestic six-dimensional force sensors realize the low-cost implementation of humanoid robots?

In recent years, the slogan of localization substitution has become increasingly louder. The proportion of localization of six-dimensional force and torque sensors has steadily increased. Overall, ’s localization share in the sensor market The rate has reached 40%, and the proportion of higher-precision six-dimensional force sensors has reached more than 80%.

At present, the domestic six-dimensional force sensor pattern is gradually becoming clearer.

The first echelon is dominated by companies such as Blue Point Touch and Yuli Technology, and the sales proportion of foreign brands continues to decline . Part of this is due to cost factors, and the other part is the improvement of localized performance indicators.

Take the head company Blue Point Touch as an example. The company’s six-dimensional force sensor hardware structure design is derived from the military industry system and revolves around decoupling algorithms, structural decoupling design, high-precision data collection, and multi-axis synchronous calibration. In terms of dynamic force control accuracy, it has reached 0.1N, the accuracy can reach 0.2% FS, and the response speed has reached the millisecond level. Core performances such as sensor accuracy, temperature drift, and reliability can benchmark and surpass foreign brands.

High precision, good reliability, and a complete force control algorithm package provide customers with a complete set of force control product solutions from software to hardware. This is the customer's subjective impression of blue point touch.

From a price point of view, The single price of a foreign brand six-dimensional force sensor is around 50,000-80,000 yuan. If calculated based on the four six-dimensional force control units of a humanoid robot, the cost will be at least 200,000 yuan. -320,000 RMB. This does not include other one-dimensional sensors and rotating joint torque sensors. However, if we use a domestic six-dimensional force sensor solution, calculated based on the terminal retail price range of 15,000 yuan to 30,000 yuan, the overall price will be about 3 times cheaper. This will be the best low-cost, high-performance solution for Chinese humanoid robots in the future. plan. Currently Blue Dot Touch has provided customers with different types of product choices such as high-precision version and economical version. Some products have even been reduced to the price of a thousand yuan.

Blue Point Touch CEO Liu Wuyue said: "Blue Point Touch is committed to providing the industry with high-quality six-dimensional force sensors, joint torque sensors, force control software packages and industry solutions. Currently, except for six-dimensional force sensors, In addition to Velikon polishing the track, Blue Dot Touch also began to explore the field of humanoid robots in 2021. The company established an independent research and development team. For the wrist and ankle units of humanoid robots, we will create cost-effective, high-precision and high-impact products. Core component unit. Provides comprehensive support from six-dimensional force sensors, linear module tension and pressure sensors, joint torque sensors, and force control algorithms."

Liu Wuyue said: "From the perspective of collaborative polishing scenarios, the current shipments and application scenarios of the force sensor market tend to have stable growth prospects, but from the perspective of the humanoid robot track, it is bound to become a new growth for force sensors. Point, the humanoid robot has as many as 40 sensors and joint units all over the body, which will become the value high ground for Blue Point Touch to seize the next blue ocean market. Although the overall manufacturing industry is under pressure in 2023, Blue Point Touch will still maintain its growth rate in the second half of 2023. With a growth rate of 80%-90% against the trend. In 2023, the annual sales volume of Blue Point touch robot force sensors will exceed 20,000 units, winning the title of domestic brand sales champion of robot force sensors. ”

Some research institutions estimate that when the annual sales volume of humanoid robots reaches 100,000 units, the unit price of the most expensive six-dimensional force sensor will likely drop to 5,000 yuan. When the sales volume exceeds 500,000 units, the unit price will drop to 4,000 yuan. Yuan, when sales reach 1 million units, the unit price will fall below 2,500 Yuan. Six-dimensional force sensors are no longer an obstacle to the large-scale mass production of humanoid robots. The era of humanoid robots has truly arrived.

▍Conclusion and the future:

Nowadays, domestic favorable policies for humanoid robots have been implemented one after another, and humanoid robots are entering the fast lane. The expected price of Tesla Optimus Gen2 is US$250 million, forcing Chinese companies to try their best to reduce product performance without reducing product performance. The overall cost of the humanoid machine. If, as Liu Wuyue said, we can provide humanoid robot customers with six-dimensional force sensors in the price range of 1,000 yuan, the cost of humanoid robots can be reduced to less than 100,000 yuan, which is equivalent to a family buying a car. That will mean that humanoid robots have a real chance to enter every home, and the era of embodied intelligence has truly arrived.

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