The Boom of Humanoid Robots: Why Magnetic Encoders Become a Critical Building Block? MEMSIC Steps Up in the Key Magnetic Encoder Track

Humanoid robots are accelerating their transition from laboratory prototypes to industrialization and commercialization. From Tesla Optimus to humanoid robot releases by multiple domestic enterprises, the industry is racing in a new round of technological competition centered on embodied intelligence. While computing power chips and servo motors have attracted widespread attention, sensing devices that enable precise motion control for robots also serve as indispensable and critical components.

Whether walking, running, grasping or transporting objects, every movement relies on the robot’s real-time perception of its own status. A robot must not only know “what to do next”, but also understand “its current state”. Continuous feedback on position, angle and motion status lays the foundation for closed-loop operation of the motion control system.

Against this backdrop, magnetic encoders are emerging as increasingly vital core components. As a key type of position-sensing sensor, magnetic encoders are widely deployed in robot joints, electric drive systems and industrial automation equipment, unlocking new market opportunities amid the growth of the robotics industry.

How Do Magnetic Encoders Help Robots “Sense Themselves”?

For robots, motion control is essentially a continuous cycle of perception, calculation and execution.

After the control system sends motion commands to joint motors, it needs real-time feedback data to verify whether the actual motion matches the target state. Without accurate position feedback, robots cannot achieve precise control, let alone coordinate sophisticated multi-step movements.

The core function of magnetic encoders is to deliver such position feedback to the system.

They operate by measuring rotational angle and positional information through detecting changes in magnetic fields. As magnets rotate alongside motors, the magnetic encoder chip captures magnetic field variations in real time and converts them into parameters such as angle, direction and velocity for the control system. With this data, the system can identify the current joint position and dynamically adjust motion trajectories.

Functionally speaking, a magnetic encoder acts as the “position-sensing organ” within a robot’s motion system. It does not participate directly in decision-making, yet provides critical input for the control system, forming a cornerstone for precise motion control.

The Robotics Era: Reassessing the Value of Magnetic Encoders

For decades, encoders have been widely adopted in industrial automation and servo control with relatively mature technologies. However, the rapid expansion of emerging industries including new energy vehicles and humanoid robots is reshaping market requirements for high-performance position-sensing devices.

Compared with traditional industrial equipment, humanoid robots impose more stringent demands on motion control. On one hand, they feature a significantly higher number of degrees of freedom; a single robot often requires dozens of joints working in tandem. On the other hand, robots must perform more complex actions in unstructured environments, calling for higher standards in position feedback accuracy, real-time responsiveness and reliability.

Under such circumstances, the value of magnetic encoders is being re-evaluated.

Against certain conventional solutions, magnetic encoders feature compact form factors, strong environmental adaptability and easy integration, making them well suited for the constrained internal space of robot joints and harsh operating conditions. Meanwhile, the trend toward lighter, miniaturized robots further fuels demand for highly integrated sensors.

Furthermore, new energy vehicles have opened new application frontiers for magnetic encoders. Growing demand for position detection in electric drive systems, Electric Power Steering (EPS), thermal management systems and other scenarios is accelerating the penetration of magnetic encoders into the automotive electronics market.

From industrial control to new energy vehicles, and onward to humanoid robots in the embodied intelligence era, magnetic encoders are evolving from conventional auxiliary components into critical sensing hardware for intelligent motion control systems.

From Inertial Sensing to Position Sensing: MEMSIC Continues to Expand Its Motion Sensing Portfolio

For robots, position sensing alone cannot support sophisticated motion control.

In practical deployment, robots need to track positional changes of joints and actuators as well as real-time motion data such as attitude, acceleration and angular velocity. The former depends on position sensors like magnetic encoders, while the latter mainly relies on inertial sensors including accelerometers, gyroscopes or 6-axis IMUs. Fusion of these two categories of sensing data forms the backbone of robotic motion control.

As a domestic MEMS sensor enterprise, MEMSIC has long focused on R&D of sensing chips and built profound technological expertise in accelerometers, 6-axis IMUs and other product lines. Its products are widely used across consumer electronics, industrial control, automotive electronics and other markets.

In high-dynamic scenarios such as robot joints and electric drive systems, magnetic encoders must not only deliver precise position and angle readings, but also maintain stable long-term output under persistent vibration, shock and complex electromagnetic environments, raising higher bars for product consistency and reliability.

Leveraging its capability in co-design of MEMS and ASIC, paired with system-level simulation and product validation frameworks, MEMSIC implements closed-loop end-to-end development from chip design to performance optimization. This enables its magnetic encoders to sustain accurate, stable and reliable signal output even within complex mechanical structures and high-dynamic working conditions, fitting applications requiring high motion-control precision such as servo motors, robots and new energy vehicles. In addition, MEMSIC’s in-house wafer fab manufactures AMR magnetic sensing elements, further boosting the cost-performance of MEMSIC magnetic encoders and making substantial contributions to domestic substitution.

Driven by the rapid growth of robotics and new energy vehicle industries, MEMSIC will further expand its magnetic encoder product portfolio, extending from inertial sensing into position sensing and continuously upgrading its full suite of motion sensing capabilities.

From attitude sensing to position sensing, from discrete sensors to multi-dimensional motion perception, MEMSIC keeps pushing technological boundaries centered on core demands of intelligent devices, delivering richer sensor solutions for robotics, new energy vehicles, industrial automation and other sectors.