Written by WangYadiID | BMR2004Cover | CMO Fang Hainan of Beijing Yinshi Robotics Technology Co., Ltd.
On April 15, the second China Humanoid Robot and Embodied Intelligence Industry Conference, guided by the Management Committee of Zhongguancun Science City and hosted by the Lide Robot Platform (Robot Lecture Hall), was held at the Zhongguancun National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone Exhibition Center, with over 1500 representatives from government, industry, academia, and research participating in the conference.
As a specialized and innovative enterprise focusing on the research and development of miniature precision motion components and breakthroughs in servo control technology, Yinshi Robotics has unique advantages in miniaturization, high precision, and force control technology, with products widely used in the motion execution parts of robots and other mechanical devices.
During a media interview, Yinshi Robotics CMO Fang Hainan stated to the “Business School” magazine that Yinshi Robotics has always positioned itself with a dual strategy: on one hand, the miniature servo cylinder, and on the other, the humanoid five-finger dexterous hand, both must be grasped and both must be strong.
01
Pioneers of Miniature Servo Cylinders
The miniature servo cylinder is the core product of Yinshi Robotics, which integrates a high-performance hollow cup motor, precision planetary gearbox, screw structure, sensors, and a servo control system, achieving integrated drive and control while ensuring a smaller size. It is widely used as a motion execution component in fields such as robotics, biomedical devices, aesthetic medical devices, and automation equipment.
Fang Hainan stated that the dexterous hand of Yinshi Robotics is roughly the same size as a human hand. The reason it can achieve such a small size, with many joints and relatively flexible operation, lies in the driving source, which is the built-in miniature servo cylinder.
Interestingly, this name was coined by Yinshi Robotics, and it can be considered a pioneer. The terms “integrated linear joint” or “integrated linear actuator” commonly used in the industry actually refer to the miniature servo cylinder. Although the servo cylinder developed by Yinshi Robotics originates from the same industrial scenario as traditional cylinders, the technical core has formed a generational difference from traditional cylinders, hence the name “miniature servo cylinder” based on the breakthrough point.
Fang Hainan pointed out that in fact, this integrated linear actuator can be used not only in the dexterous hand of humanoid robots but also in their limbs, arms, and thighs. In 2016, we observed the development of the entire robotics industry and realized that core components are a key breakthrough point, while the linear motion control field was in a blank period, thus we began to develop the miniature servo cylinder product. The concept of miniaturization is not absolute; it is a relative concept, meaning that under the same output power conditions, we can make the size smaller.
For example, in the past, to create a humanoid robot that meets its load and drive requirements, the robot might need to be two meters tall or even taller. Today, humanoid robots can be as small as 1.2 meters or even smaller, thanks to the significant improvement in joint power density, which reflects the value of component miniaturization. It is reported that Yinshi Robotics is also planning miniature servo cylinder products for the limbs of humanoid robots.
The miniature servo cylinder is not only applicable in the robotics industry but also has annual sales exceeding ten thousand units in the industrial and medical fields. A typical application case is in the coating process of new energy battery production, where a miniature servo cylinder is configured for each adjustment slider on the coating head, achieving real-time synchronized precise control of all adjustment sliders, enabling fully automatic adjustment of the synchronous head and solving the previous problem of adjustment lag. This not only improves adjustment speed but also significantly enhances the A-grade rate of the batteries.
02
How to Achieve Extreme Size Advantages?
As a pioneer, Yinshi Robotics’ miniature servo cylinder achieves integrated drive and control while ensuring a smaller size, internally integrating a high-precision reducer, high-performance hollow cup motor, screw mechanism, sensors, and a servo control system, with the smallest model being the size of a finger, occupying 1/4-1/3 of the volume of integrated types, which is one of its core advantages.
It is reported that the precision of Yinshi Robotics’ miniature servo cylinder reaches ±2μm, with a push-pull force of up to 40 kilograms, and such excellent performance is currently only achievable by Yinshi Robotics globally. After the transformation of the coating head with the miniature servo cylinder, the COV value can be reduced to 0.15%, and the A-grade rate can reach 90%. After customers go online for production, the ROI effect is immediate, bringing significant economic benefits.
Fang Hainan stated that Yinshi Robotics was established in 2016, and the prototypes of the miniature servo cylinder and five-finger dexterous hand were successfully developed the following year, with mass production and market launch achieved in 2020. In these four years, we have streamlined the entire R&D, production, and manufacturing processes of core components, successfully breaking through the micro gear processing technology, micro reducer design and manufacturing technology, precision screw processing technology, high-performance servo control system, and force control technology. Through these positive designs, we can achieve the extreme size and excellent performance of the entire miniature servo cylinder.
03
Left Hand Miniature Servo Cylinder, Right Hand Humanoid Five-Finger Dexterous Hand
Yinshi Robotics has launched over a hundred products across five standard series, including the LA series, LAS series, LAF series, LASF series, and BLA series, to meet the application needs of different industries.
Fang Hainan pointed out that through the miniaturized and integrated design of the miniature servo cylinder, it replaces the traditional open-loop design of motor + reducer + screw + drive, simplifying the mechanical structure of the dexterous hand, achieving an exceptional cost-performance ratio, and realizing low cost and high mass production goals. Not only has it successfully created China’s first commercially mass-produced dexterous hand, but it is also currently the only manufacturer in the country that has delivered in large quantities.
The dexterous hands launched by Yinshi Robotics include the RH56DFTP series, RH56BFX series, and RH56DFX series humanoid five-finger dexterous hands, all equipped with 6 degrees of freedom and 12 motion joints.
Fang Hainan stated that achieving the same degree of freedom as a human hand is technically easy, but the market’s choice of how many degrees of freedom a dexterous hand should have is a comprehensive decision. For example, the Shadow dexterous hand has 23 degrees of freedom and can solve a Rubik’s cube with one hand, but the weight of the entire hand can reach over 4000 grams, and the cost of a single hand is as high as 1 million yuan. Therefore, higher degrees of freedom correspond to more actuators and more complex structures, which inevitably lead to higher costs.
Thus, in Fang Hainan’s view, the evaluation criteria for dexterous hands should not be based solely on the number of degrees of freedom; the key is to look at what the needs are, what problems can be solved, and the consistency, reliability, stability, cost, and degrees of freedom in mass production. These are interrelated factors.
In 2023, Yinshi Robotics has achieved cumulative shipments of over ten thousand miniature servo cylinders and over a thousand humanoid five-finger dexterous hands. With the upcoming humanoid robot boom in 2024, Yinshi Robotics is expected to sell nearly 2000 dexterous hands.
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