ROKAE Reports 10,000 Humanoid Arms Delivered, Identifies Schaeffler Factory Deployment

ROKAE says it has delivered its 10,000th humanoid force-controlled arm, and has identified five of its Helios wheeled humanoids working at Schaeffler's Taicang factory. The October 26 announcement adds a supplier's perspective to the German industrial group's push to use robots to manufacture components for other robots.

Key Takeaways

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• ROKAE's milestone counts arms, not complete humanoids; the company says the milestone unit left its production line in September.
• Five Helios wheeled humanoids equipped with AR Series arms are deployed at Schaeffler's Taicang component-assembly line, according to ROKAE.
• The announcement adds deployment detail to Schaeffler's strategy of supplying robot hardware while using humanoids in its own factories.

Arms on the assembly line

ROKAE says the Helios robots handle parts, assembly and inspection. It also reports that more than 80 industrial partners have integrated its humanoid arms into production applications.

The AR Series provides force control at each joint, according to the company. Its MAC controller can manage seven joints in one arm, 14 across two arms, or more than 20 across a humanoid, depending on configuration. The delivery total covers this arm product line separately from ROKAE's industrial and collaborative robots.

More detail on Schaeffler's Taicang deployment

In our coverage of the Taicang factory opening, Schaeffler described six humanoids working across five stations to produce joint components, including linear and rotary actuators. The approximately 7,500-square-meter facility combines production with robot training, data collection and digital twins.

ROKAE's five-machine figure specifically concerns its Helios deployment. The earlier six-robot count described the line as a whole; the new release does not explain the difference. It would therefore be premature to identify the sixth robot or treat the two announcements as directly equivalent fleet counts.

The connection also follows COO Dr. Jochen Schröder's recent comments to Gasgoo. He outlined opportunities spanning precision components, productivity in Schaeffler's plants, integration for customers and maintenance services.

Taicang brings the supplier and factory-operator roles together. As our earlier report noted, however, Schaeffler did not disclose the line's output rate, intervention requirements or quantified productivity gains. Identifying the robot supplier provides a clearer picture of the equipment involved; those operating measures will be needed to assess the deployment's commercial performance.