ROKAE Robotics announced on October 26 that it has delivered its 10,000th humanoid force-controlled arm. It also revealed where some of those machines went: five Helios wheeled humanoids working a component line at Schaeffler's Taicang factory. The counter covers arms, not complete robots.
Key takeaways
- The 10,000th unit rolled off the line in Shandong Province in September 2026
- Five Helios humanoids with AR Series arms work at Schaeffler's Lighthouse Factory in Taicang
- The MAC controller, 213 × 145.5 × 45 mm, drives 7 joints in one arm, 14 in a pair or over 20 across a humanoid
- More than 80 industrial partners have deployed ROKAE arms in production applications
- The counter covers the humanoid arm line alone — separate from the company's industrial and collaborative robots
What do these robots actually do in Taicang?
A wheeled humanoid stands on the Taicang assembly line. It moves a part, assembles it and checks it. The product that emerges is a linear or rotary actuator?Linear and rotary actuator: The two basic joint drive types. A linear one extends and retracts a rod, a rotary one turns a part about an axis. — a joint for another humanoid robot.
The roughly 7,500-square-metre plant combines production with robot training, data collection and digital twins, according to earlier Humanoids Daily reporting on the factory opening. That makes the production line its own source of training data — a textbook data flywheel.
But one discrepancy here has gone unexplained.
The diagram shows why Taicang is more interesting than an ordinary deployment: the line's output returns to the same industry, and operating data feeds the training of further robots.
Why does force control matter?
AR Series arms carry force control at every joint. That means the robot knows not only where its hand is, but how hard it is pressing.
The difference is practical. A position-controlled robot told to press a part home will press at full power whether or not it hit the socket. A force-controlled one feels the resistance and either corrects the motion or stops.
The number itself matters less to us than the trust behind it. There are no shortcuts in force control. Reaching 10,000 units means delivering consistent performance across hardware, control algorithms and manufacturing processes at scale.
Tuo Hua, Founder and CEO of ROKAE Robotics
Alongside the arms the company lists HSA Series integrated force-controlled joints, the iNex control system and the Helios humanoids themselves. ROKAE was founded in 2014 and is listed in Hong Kong.
| Configuration | Joints driven by one MAC controller |
|---|---|
| Single arm | 7 |
| Pair of arms | 14 |
| Full humanoid | over 20 |
What do these names mean?
A few terms from the release decide how to read that figure of 10,000.
- Force control — an operating mode where the robot regulates pressure, not just position. The equivalent of the difference between driving a screw with a torque wrench and forcing it in.
- Wheeled humanoid — a torso with arms on a mobile wheeled base instead of legs. Simpler and steadier than a walking robot, but limited to flat floors.
- MAC controller — ROKAE's control unit, 213 × 145.5 × 45 mm. It scales from the 7 joints of a single arm to over 20 across a full humanoid.
- Lighthouse Factory — Schaeffler's term for a showcase plant where solutions are trialled before rollout to its other factories.
Together these explain why the counter tracks arms rather than robots: here the arm is a product sold on its own, not a part of a finished machine.
Why not just use an ordinary industrial robot?
The question suggests itself. Industrial robots have been assembling subassemblies for decades, more cheaply and faster than any humanoid.
The answer lies in station flexibility. A classic industrial robot is bolted to the floor and programmed for one operation. Changing the product means retooling, new grippers and a new trajectory.
A wheeled humanoid with two arms has roughly human reach and grasp, so in theory it steps into a station designed for a worker without rebuilding the line. For short runs of robotic components that could matter.
In theory — because Schaeffler has not disclosed the line's output rate, how often humans intervene or any quantified productivity gain. Without those numbers the deployment remains a demonstration of embodied AI, not proof of a business case.
Is it live yet?
Yes — this is a production deployment, not a pilot. Five Helios humanoids work an assembly line for humanoid robot components in Taicang. ROKAE says more than 80 industrial partners have integrated its arms into production applications, and its industrial and collaborative robots operate in over 40 countries.
What is still missing: operating metrics. Schaeffler has not disclosed line throughput or how often human intervention is needed. Naming the equipment supplier clarifies the technical picture but does not substitute for performance data.
Why does this matter?
Ten thousand arms is the first publicly stated figure of that order for a humanoid component rather than for complete robots. It shows where the market is actually forming: not in selling finished machines but in supplying the parts that go into them. A factory where humanoids assemble joints for further humanoids closes that picture literally.
What's next?
- The gap between the six humanoids reported at the factory opening and ROKAE's five machines remains unexplained by the release
- Schaeffler still has not published Taicang's output rate, intervention frequency or any quantified productivity gain
- Schaeffler COO Jochen Schröder told Gasgoo the direction of travel: precision components, productivity in its own plants, integration for customers and maintenance services
Sources
- PR Newswire — ROKAE Delivers its 10,000th Humanoid Force-Controlled Arm
- Humanoids Daily — ROKAE Reports 10,000 Humanoid Arms Delivered, Identifies Schaeffler Factory Deployment
- Humanoids Daily — Schaeffler Puts Humanoids to Work Building Parts for Other Humanoids
- Humanoids Daily — Schaeffler COO Sees Humanoid Opportunities in Components, Factories and Services
