Freudenberg: Humanoid Robot Commercialization Hinges on Stable, Safe Physical Systems
Matthias Sckuhr, chief technology officer of Freudenberg Group, said at the opening of the Freudenberg Co-Creation Center on September 17 that the next stage of humanoid robot development is not just an AI problem but an engineering problem.
2026 is seen as the first year of mass production for humanoid robots. But Freudenberg points out that while software and AI iterate rapidly, a more critical issue is emerging: whether the robot's physical systems—joints, dexterous hands, mobile chassis—can remain reliable, efficient and safe over the long term in real industrial scenarios. That is the key to commercialization.
Freudenberg is a 177-year-old global technology group covering 40 market segments, including seals, vibration control components, technical textiles, specialty chemicals and e-mobility solutions. It breaks down the reliability problem of humanoid robots to the level of basic components.
The performance and lifespan of seals, lubrication and vibration control directly determine the long-term reliability and performance ceiling of the whole machine. A humanoid robot operating more than ten hours a day in a factory will accumulate failures from seal wear in joints, lubricant failure, and loosened fasteners caused by vibration.
These problems are not easily exposed in short lab tests, but on real production lines they show up after thousands of hours of operation.
Freudenberg chose Shanghai Zhangjiang Robot Valley for its first Co-Creation Center, focusing on three core industry challenges: performance reliability bottlenecks of high-dynamic, high-load joints; the lack of testing standards when translating lab results to industrial scenarios; and poor upstream-downstream collaborative innovation mechanisms.
Through its business groups, Freudenberg will work with robot manufacturers, component companies and research institutions on testing and verification in sealing, lubrication, damping and noise reduction, and support industry standards.
The lack of testing standards deserves separate attention. Robot makers each use their own standards for reliability testing, with inconsistent test conditions, durations and evaluation metrics, making it difficult for buyers to compare the true lifespan of different products. If the industry can establish unified testing standards, robot manufacturers will have a clearer basis for selection, and insurance companies will have a foundation for risk assessment in product development.