HIGEN RNM Targets Humanoid Robotics' Next Bottleneck: The Actuator

New Human-Friendly Actuator Platform combines sub-100 ms local response with six standardized joint designs for scalable humanoid robots

SEOUL, South Korea, Aug. 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- HIGEN RNM, a motion-control and robotic drive platform company, today unveiled its Human-Friendly Actuator Platform, a standardized robotic joint actuator architecture designed to address one of the key challenges facing humanoid robotics: converting increasingly capable AI into safe, responsive and scalable physical movement.

As Physical AI and Vision-Language-Action models advance, humanoid robots are becoming better at perception, reasoning and planning. But real-world variables such as friction, heat, mechanical nonlinearities and joint latency can still create a gap between simulated performance and real-world operation.

HIGEN RNM is targeting these actuator-level challenges by embedding localized sensing and control directly into each robotic joint. Its distributed architecture enables each joint to detect unexpected disturbances and adjust force and stiffness locally in under 100 milliseconds, without relying solely on round-trip processing through a central controller.

"AI is making the robot's brain dramatically smarter, but the point where that intelligence ultimately meets the physical world is the joint," said Jae Hak Kim, CEO of HIGEN RNM. "Our focus is on engineering a body that can turn AI decisions into movement that is responsive, precise and safe around people."

To support humanoid developers moving from prototypes toward scalable production, HIGEN RNM has developed six standardized actuator platforms ranging from 60 Nm to 348 Nm, covering applications from wrists and necks to knees and hips.

The company vertically integrates motors, gearboxes and drive electronics, combining an AFPM motor, 3K compound planetary gearbox, dual encoders and embedded drive electronics into a reusable actuator architecture. Dual-encoder data and motor-current sensing are also used to estimate external forces without requiring a dedicated joint torque sensor.

Under its reference design conditions, HIGEN RNM says its AFPM-based architecture reduces actuator volume by 30% while increasing torque density by 30%. Its proprietary 3K compound planetary gearbox has also achieved backdriving torque below 1 Nm under specified test conditions, supporting mechanical compliance for robots operating in close proximity to people.

HIGEN RNM has filed three Korean patent applications related to sensing and adaptive force-control technologies, incorporated ISO 13849-1 functional safety requirements into its design process, and is pursuing CE and UL certification.

The company plans to showcase the Human-Friendly Actuator Platform, performance data and application demonstrations at CES 2027 in Las Vegas.

About HIGEN RNM

HIGEN RNM develops motion-control technologies and integrated robotic drive platforms, including motors, gear systems, drive electronics and actuator solutions. The company focuses on standardized actuator architectures for humanoid robotics and Physical AI applications. HIGEN RNM was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Changwon-si, South Korea. For more information, visit: http://www.higenrnm.com