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High-growth enterprises are competing for force sensing "crown pearl" in the field of domestic enterprises are accelerating the layout.

Release time:

2023-07-22 12:42

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Force sensing ability is the key problem to realize intelligence in various industries, so intelligence sensor has become a research and development hot spot.
"At this stage, almost all industries need force perception capabilities to meet the needs of refinement and intelligence. In the medical scenario, for example, laparoscopic surgery, natural lumen surgery, interventional surgery and other complicated surgical procedures, the instrument can not quantify the size of the force, so doctors can only rely on the hand to operate, which brings a lot of uncertainty for the diagnosis and surgical process." Dr. Yu Chen, co-founder of Haptron  Science, told reporters.
From the upstream and downstream of the sensor industry chain, the upstream is mainly the supply of raw materials for sensor manufacturing. The middle reaches of the sensor industry chain are mainly the manufacturing and packaging of various types of sensors, and its downstream application scenarios are broad, including robot floating grinding, automated assembly, assisted bicycles, bionic robots, medical robots, etc.
Among them, compared with the traditional force sensor, the six-dimensional force sensor has a complex structure and is difficult to develop. Foreign companies have always been in a strong position. Data show that in 2022, China's national sensor market is still dominated by foreign brands, with a domestic share of less than 30%.

However, as domestic enterprises continue to increase R & D and innovation efforts, many companies have developed multi-dimensional force sensors. Founded in 2019, Haptron Science aims to provide high-performance intelligent sensors based on optical principles for various industries, while integrating vision systems and intelligent control algorithms into "visual-touch" fusion robots to develop overall force control solutions for customers.

 

The "Crown Pearl" of Force Sensing"
At present, there are roughly three robot force control schemes, namely, current loop force control, multi-dimensional torque/force sensor force control, and passive force control (elastomer). Among them, multi-dimensional torque/force sensor force control is the best current force control scheme. Its hardware includes a single-axis torque sensor at the joint part and a six-axis force sensor at the end of the robot actuator.
Different from ordinary single-axis force sensors, six-axis force sensors are more advanced, have more measurement dimensions, can measure all the force conditions of objects in three-dimensional space, and are widely used in robotics and other industries.
The six-axis force/torque sensor can sense six-dimensional force and torque information, can measure the application load in any direction and on any axis, and can withstand overload from 5 to 20 times the rated measurement range. Typical application cases include mechanical arms such as KUKA LBR iiwa manipulator and Tesla Optimus humanoid robot. When torque sensors are configured at the rotary joint actuator, the robot can control the grasping force without breaking eggs.
In terms of market potential, the market demand for force sensors and complete robot solutions will continue to grow in the face of increased demand for digital transformation of downstream industrial enterprises and manpower shortages in sub-scenarios such as polishing and assembly. Zhiyan consulting data show that in 2022, China's polishing robot market size of 9.61 billion billion yuan, an increase of 18.7.
According to CICC Research, force sensors are the mainstream choice for the industrialization of accurate force measurement. Among them, the six-dimensional force sensor is a force-sensing crown jewel, used in grinding and other scenarios for robot end grippers, the bank believes that humanoid robots are expected to bring strong market growth. Considering only the global collaborative humanoid robot scenario, the bank estimates that the new six-dimensional force sensing market will be nearly 5 billion billion yuan in 2025.
It is worth noting that the technical barriers of multi-dimensional torque sensors are also high. The multi-dimensional force sensor should not only solve the problem of monotonicity and unity sensitive to the measured force components, but also solve the problem of inter-dimensional (inter-axis) disturbance caused by structural processing and process deviation, the problem of dynamic and static calibration, and the decoupling algorithm and circuit implementation in vector operation.
Due to high technical barriers, there are fewer domestic mass-produced enterprises, and the first-mover advantage of American and Japanese enterprises is obvious. The main research units of six-dimensional torque sensors in the world include DRAPER Laboratory, Stanford Research Institute, JPL Laboratory, IBM Corporation, Hitachi Corporation of Japan, University of Tokyo, etc. The leading companies are ATI of the United States.

Zhiyan Consulting estimates that the number of overseas imported polishing robot products accounts for about 55.9 percent of the total installed capacity, but this proportion has been on a downward trend in recent years. Domestic manufacturers by virtue of price advantages, as well as research and development innovation, is gradually gaining market voice.

 

Domestic enterprises are rising.
At present, domestic enterprises are also gradually rising. Among them, Haptron Science's optical-based force/torque sensing technology and Photon series of smart sensors, including six-axis force sensors, single-axis and three-axis sensors, can be mass-produced.
Yu Chen said that compared with force sensors based on strain gauges, Photon series multi-dimensional force/torque sensors have high cost performance, good decoupling ability and small crosstalk between different axes. At the same time, it adopts automatic production and calibration methods, with short manufacturing cycle and high product consistency.
"The diversification of the physical structure of the sensor is the trend, but as the diameter of the strain gauge becomes smaller, the difficulty of standardized manufacturing also increases geometrically, so it is very difficult to use traditional manual patching. However, we have automated production with high consistency, short production time and high customization, which is also our core advantage." Fish said morning.
It is worth noting that high-end medical devices are the main track for the development of force sensors, and medical robots are the comprehensive embodiment of the application of various force sensing technologies. The Photon series of force sensors, which can be equipped with various medical devices, are optimized for specific medical and robotic scenarios and have specific advantages.
For example, a Photon_micro multi-dimensional force sensor that can be applied to the inside of a medical endoscope is independently developed by Haptron Scientific and is currently the smallest rigid multi-dimensional force sensor in the world.
The sensor has a diameter of only 8mm and contains a 4mm central through hole to allow the instrument harness to pass through. The physical structure is compatible with soft/hard endoscopes of various specifications. The sensor is compatible with a force perception visualization system, which can effectively monitor the contact force between the endoscope and the human body cavity and assist doctors in optimizing the diagnosis and treatment process.
Yu Chen introduced that at this stage, the physical structure of the company's latest six-dimensional force sensor can reach a smaller level. Its significance is that the force sensing capability can be given to finer instruments or equipment, thereby improving application efficiency. For example, the sensor can be integrated into the end of the colonoscope, so that the doctor can clearly monitor the contact state of the medical instrument and the human tissue during the mirror or the treatment process, thus making the whole treatment process safer.
In the business sector, for head collaborative robot companies and traditional automation equipment manufacturers, Haptron Scientific can provide customized force sensors as core components to help the above manufacturers develop application scenarios with force control requirements and empower their products. At the same time, Haptron Scientific can also provide force sensors for terminal scenarios with force control equipment requirements, A "one-stop" overall force control solution, including intelligent force control algorithms and intelligent devices.
At present, Haptron Scientific has completed tens of millions of yuan in round A financing ahead of schedule, thanks to the recognition of the industry and the company by the old shareholder Hongchuanyuan Fund. The funds are mainly used to meet the needs of large customers in the industry and the construction and commissioning of the world's first fully automatic equipment production line for force sensors based on optical principles.
Hongchuanyuan Fund said that Haptron Scientific team has successfully developed the world's first force sensor with new optical principles. Combined with the visual-touch fusion solution, it has led the development of force sensing technology, better solved the pain points of traditional principles, greatly broadened the force transmission sensing scene, and used "force" to enable high-end manufacturing, medical equipment, aerospace and military industries to develop by leaps and bounds.
In addition to Haptron Scientific , the CICC report shows that the domestic first-class companies are surging, the star is rising. It is expected that the domestic multi-dimensional force sensing localization rate of less than 20%, to Yuli Instruments, Blue Point Touch, Kunwei Technology and so on. Yuli Instruments established standard product cooperation with foreign robot factories earlier, and developed a number of standard force control products in conjunction with ABB and KUKA. In recent years, blue dot touch has developed rapidly in polishing scenes, and humanoid robots have made positive progress.
(The article is reprinted from 21 Finance and Economics, author: Wei Xiao Editor: Sun Chaoyi)

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