Robotics & autonomous systems
A robot joint leaves barely any room for additional measurement. At the same time the control has to react quickly enough that a collision is recognised before it becomes dangerous. And because robots run continuously, the sensors must neither drift nor need servicing over years.
Classic methods force compromises here: strain gauges need signals brought off the rotating shaft, slip rings wear, and a bolted-on torque flange costs exactly the space a slim arm does not have.
The magnetoelastic principle resolves the conflict, because the shaft itself becomes the sensor. There is no additional component in the load path, no mechanical contact and therefore nothing that could wear.
Where torque measurement is used in robotics
Collaborative robots (cobots)
Safe collaboration between people and machines depends on solid force and torque monitoring. The sensors pick up the smallest deviations in the torque curve and give the safety function what it needs to catch a collision rather than log it afterwards.
Autonomous mobile robots & AGVs
In drive wheels and steering systems, torque shows how the load is actually distributed, across surface, payload and manoeuvre. That improves traction control and manoeuvrability and makes energy use per trip comparable.
End effectors & attached tools
Grippers, screwdriving units, welding guns and inspection tools can only be controlled as well as the process is measured at the tool centre point. We build torque, force and angle measurement into the tool itself, where the process actually happens.
What the design has to meet
Low latency for control
The measuring chain is short enough to work inside the control loop rather than merely log. Over CAN bus or UART the reading arrives where the controller needs it.
Integration into existing shafts
The sensor goes into hollow shafts and existing gear structures. The driveline does not have to be designed around the measurement.
Rotating and static
The same system measures while moving and while holding. For axes that have to hold a position against load, that removes the need for a second sensor.
Additional quantities
Besides torque, twist angle and acceleration can be captured. That improves damping and vibration reduction in multi-axis systems.
Technical guide values
We match the actual design to your shaft geometry, load profile and installation.
Suitable products and services
Torque measurement
The base technology: measurement directly on the shaft, with no added component in the load path.
View →OEMHollow-shaft measurement
Sensors that move into the hollow shaft rather than beside it, for slim arms and compact actuators.
View →OEMOEM solutions
From a functional sample for research through to series for the robot builder.
View →ApplicationTorque measurement in robotics: safety and the future of human-machine interaction
Read more →FundamentalsTorque sensors as the basis for safe electric motors
Read more →ComparisonMagnetostrictive torque sensing compared with strain gauges
Read more →A measuring task in robotics anfragen.
Installation space, torque range, speed and the interface you want are enough for a first assessment. We will tell you whether the measurement can go into your existing shaft, and what it would take.