Bosch has established a new robotics company, opened a robotics center in China, and intends to position itself as a supplier in the growing humanoid-robotics market, the company announced at its Berlin event.
Rather than producing full humanoid robots, Bosch plans to focus on supplying parts and enabling technologies to robotics manufacturers and integrators. The company expects growing demand and revenue opportunities particularly in the following areas:
- sensors (notably MEMS sensors),
- software and control systems,
- electric drives and high-precision motors,
- servo drives, subsystems and conveyor systems,
- factory-automation platforms and integrated solutions.
A key organizational move is the founding of Robert Bosch Robotics GmbH, dedicated to developing and commercializing new robotics solutions. Bosch also collaborates with the German startup Neura Robotics on cognitive robots and maintains partnerships with several international robotics firms, including the British company Humanoid.
Earlier this year Bosch launched the Bosch Robotics Center China, which is intended to support the development of physical artificial intelligence and the market deployment of robotics solutions.
Central elements of Bosch’s robotics offering include the Bosch Rexroth ctrlX AUTOMATION platform, high-precision electric motors and servo drives, as well as various subsystems and material-handling systems. Bosch is also a significant player in MEMS sensor technology, which is essential for tactile and perception capabilities in humanoid and other robots.
According to market estimates cited by the company, Yole Group forecasts that the MEMS sensor market could exceed USD 19.2 billion by 2030, with an average annual growth rate of about 4 percent.
Bosch says it is already applying these technologies in its own operations: the company uses production data from more than 230 of its factories for production optimization, predictive maintenance, optical defect detection and for building systems that convert human work processes into machine-processable data. These applications are intended both to improve efficiency and to help offset skilled-labour shortages.
Overall, Bosch views the expansion of humanoid robotics primarily as an opportunity to supply sensors, drives, control systems and automation platforms—areas where it sees significant commercial potential.
