According to MIR DATABANK data, China's industrial robot market shipped over 300,000 units in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 13.6%, with total volume continuing to expand in 2026.
As China gradually becomes the world's largest producer and consumer market for industrial robots, and downstream application scenarios continue to segment, different product forms such as Cartesian and multi-joint robots have imposed more refined requirements on control and drive systems, driving the industry to evolve from discrete architectures toward integrated drive and control technology routes.
01、Integrated Drive and Control Unleashes New Demand in Multi-Joint Robots
Control systems and servo systems are referred to as the "brain" and "muscles" of industrial robots, determining the robot's reaction speed, deployment efficiency, and operational stability.
In earlier years, controllers and drivers used in traditional industrial robots were mostly designed separately, resulting in complex installation, large space consumption, poor overall performance, high costs, and low cost-effectiveness, failing to meet the needs of the industry's rapid development. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) typically had to procure controllers and servo systems separately, completing adaptation and joint debugging themselves. This led to high technical communication costs across suppliers, long problem localization cycles, and difficulties in implementing fine-grained performance optimizations.
Against this backdrop, integrated drive and control, as a new technology route and solution, is promoting the upgrade and generational replacement of industrial robots through features such as miniaturization, modularity, and whole-machine integration. On July 2, 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and seven other departments jointly issued the "Implementation Plan for Digital Transformation of the Machinery Industry," promoting digital transformation and intelligent upgrading in the industry. Among its "Section II: Key Tasks," item "1. Tackling Common Technologies and Key Components" includes "breaking through intelligent control technologies such as autonomous learning and optimized control strategies, as well as intelligent controllers like highly reliable, highly integrated programmable logic controllers and integrated drive-and-control motion controllers."
In the past, integrated drive and control technology was primarily used in Cartesian robots, finding mature applications in machine tools and injection molding industries. In recent years, with the rapid growth of multi-joint robots, integrated drive and control systems have welcomed new growth space.
02、Multi-Axis Synchronization and Algorithm Differentiation: The Technical Breakthrough Path for Integrated Drive and Control
Before integrated drive and control systems were launched in the market, motion controllers, servo drives, and servo motors existed as independent core components. Controllers and servo drives were often developed independently based on different control requirements, interacting via pulses or standard communication buses.
From a fundamental technical perspective, the R&D challenges for robot integrated drive and control systems revolve around five core dimensions: mechanical structure adaptation, control algorithms, multi-axis synchronization, communication real-time performance, and servo response.
First is the differentiated challenge of mechanical structure adaptation. The control system is a hardware and software system that manages and coordinates the robot's pose and actions, responsible for receiving sensor detection signals and driving the various motors in the robotic arm according to operational task requirements. Different robot forms have varying priorities for control systems based on their work scenarios:
Cartesian robots do not involve complex kinematic and dynamic problems between multi-axis movements. They require solving multi-axis coordinated control and synchronization issues, handling path calculations such as velocity planning, acceleration planning, S-curve trajectory planning, circular interpolation, and linear interpolation, as well as parsing and executing motion commands;
Multi-joint robots face kinematic coupling and dynamic coupling problems during joint movement. They require complex kinematic and dynamic models to achieve coordinated multi-joint movement, precise position control, and trajectory planning to complete complex three-dimensional spatial manipulation tasks.
Second is the barrier to implementing control algorithms. A controller consists of hardware and software parts. The hardware is an industrial control board including main control units, signal processing circuits, etc.; the software mainly comprises control algorithms and secondary development. Cartesian robots perform pick-and-place and loading/unloading in Cartesian space, with core demands being cycle time, positioning accuracy, and cost; articulated robots need to perform kinematic transformations between Cartesian space and joint space, while handling dynamic compensation, multi-axis coupling, and continuous trajectory control. Even if existing hardware platforms can serve as a development base, kinematic models, control algorithms, and parameter tuning still need to be re-adapted and validated for articulated robots.
In multi-axis linkage control, it is also necessary to consider the motion coordination and synchronization between axes, which places high demands on algorithm complexity and real-time performance.
Meanwhile, the communication real-time performance of the control system is also critical. In multi-axis industrial robot application scenarios, extensive communication and command transmission are required between the controller and the driver. Complex and diverse signal connections not only increase system design difficulty but also lead to issues such as low connection reliability, poor system stability, and difficult later-stage maintenance.
Beyond the control system, there are corresponding differences in servo system development for different robot types.
Cartesian robots must ensure the accuracy of linear movement, relying primarily on the fast response capability of the servo system and the stability of the drive system. Due to the fast action cycles and long strokes of Cartesian robots, the servo drive requires excellent following characteristics and high-precision control over long strokes;
Articulated robots, due to load coupling, require the servo system to address the impact of time-varying loads on system response speed, dynamic control, and control precision.
03、Technical Value and Corporate Practices of Integrated Drive and Control
To address the aforementioned pain points, integrated drive and control technology provides a systematic solution at the architectural level. Integrated drive and control refers to integrating the driver within the servo system with the upper-level controller, enhancing the flexibility and reliability of the control system while reducing costs, enabling the control system to complete complex control algorithms in shorter timeframes. As a new technology route and solution, integrated drive and control is promoting the upgrade and generational replacement of industrial robots through features such as miniaturization, modularity, and whole-machine integration. Its core advantages are mainly reflected in several aspects.
Small Size: By integrating hardware circuits, combining the controller and driver into one unit, the device's volume and weight are significantly reduced, facilitating installation and deployment, especially suitable for space-constrained scenarios.
Flexible Deployment: It simplifies the complex wiring of traditional split systems, supporting single-line connections for power and signals, allowing operation immediately upon startup, and reducing debugging time and labor costs.
Cost Reduction: It reduces the procurement and maintenance costs of separate controllers and drivers, while lowering wiring, installation, and debugging expenses, resulting in higher overall cost-effectiveness.
High Reliability: Internal signal transmission paths are shortened, reducing external interference and signal attenuation, improving system stability and anti-interference capabilities, performing better especially in harsh industrial environments.
Fast Response Speed: Using high-speed bus or on-chip bus technology enables fast data exchange between control and drive modules, enhancing system response speed and real-time performance.
Low Consumption and Environmental Protection: Integrated drive and control devices usually have built-in energy feedback functions, allowing energy recovery and reuse during movement, thereby reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions.
Looking at long-term industry trends, as robot products increasingly demand higher precision, speed, smaller size, and lower costs, the integrated drive and control architecture, leveraging its comprehensive advantages in performance and cost, is becoming the mainstream evolution direction for mid-to-high-end robot control solutions.
Chinese enterprises, through long-term technical accumulation and industrial integration, have forged an independent development path in the field of integrated drive and control, represented by companies such as Googol Technology, Estun, Xinshida, and Sinrobot Electronics.
Regarding how robot enterprises acquire control systems, the industry has mainly formed two paths: independent R&D and specialized procurement. One type of enterprise relies on its own R&D system to independently develop control systems, achieving deep adaptation between control technology and the robot body; another type procures control systems from specialized suppliers, completing body integration and application development on this basis.
For robot enterprises procuring control systems from specialized suppliers, adopting mature external control systems helps reduce initial R&D investment and shorten product introduction cycles, allowing them to concentrate more resources on body design, process applications, and customer service. Under this industrial division of labor, specialized control system suppliers like Sinrobot Electronics provide technical support to robot enterprises by offering control, drive, and system integration solutions, conducting adaptive development based on different models and application needs, and supporting customers in forming robot products with their own distinctive features.
As a specialized control system supplier that entered the integrated drive and control field earlier, Sinrobot Electronics, as an industry representative, has a very clear growth trajectory.
From revenue data, according to the company's public disclosures, from 2022 to 2025, the company's operating revenue grew from CNY 169 million to CNY 318 million, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 23.50%; net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company increased from CNY 29.612 million to CNY 59.0482 million, with a CAGR of approximately 25.87%. Over three years, operating revenue accumulated a growth of about 88.37%, and net profit attributable to the parent nearly doubled.
Growth on the product side is even more significant. In 2025, Sinrobot Electronics' total sales of industrial robot control systems reached 84,400 sets, among which sales of integrated drive and control systems reached 74,200 sets, representing a multiple-fold increase compared to 2023. Integrated drive and control products have become the core engine driving the company's performance. In terms of revenue structure, in 2025, the company's integrated drive and control systems generated revenue of CNY194 million, occupying a core proportion of the control system business, indicating that the technical solution has been widely validated by the downstream market.
It can be observed that Sinrobot Electronics' performance growth aligns closely with the pace of industrial penetration of integrated drive and control.
Sinrobot Electronics began R&D on industrial robot control systems in 2010, making it one of the earliest domestic enterprises to engage in industrial robot control system R&D. After more than a decade of technological innovation and product iteration, it has formed a solution and product system combining software and hardware, including complete industrial robot control systems, integrated drive and control systems, standalone control systems, and servo systems, accumulating high recognition in the Cartesian industrial robot niche market.
Prior to 2021, Sinrobot Electronics only produced controllers, sourcing servo drivers externally. In 2020, the company brought Shenzhen Diweixun in as a servo driver supplier and began joint development of integrated drive and control with them. One year later, the company acquired 100% equity of Diweixun via share exchange. The synergy between Sinrobot Electronics' advantages in control systems and Shenzhen Diweixun's advantages in servo systems aligned with the development trend of the industrial robot industry, successfully launching integrated drive and control systems in 2022.
In recent years, the structure of the industrial robot market has undergone continuous changes. According to MIR Ruigongye data, shipments of six-axis articulated robots reached 207,000 units in 2025, with steady growth expected to remain in the range of 200,000 units in 2026. The development of the articulated robot market provides broader application space for the integrated design of control and drive systems.
According to Sinrobot Electronics' 2026 semi-annual report, the company completed R&D on multiple new products in the first half of the year, including articulated robot control systems and components. These new products have achieved small-batch prototyping and delivery; subsequent efforts will focus on customer validation, reliability testing, and market promotion to drive the landing and conversion of new products.
Compared to Cartesian robots, the serial structure of articulated robots brings more complex multi-axis coupling, and changes in robot posture and load affect dynamic response and trajectory accuracy. This requires collaborative design of control algorithms, servo drives, and communication mechanisms, balancing the volume, heat dissipation, and cost of the control cabinet while meeting multi-axis synchronization and real-time requirements.
So, for third-party controller manufacturers, how is the integrated drive and control proven on Cartesian robots replicated onto articulated robots?
In the segmented market of integrated drive and control systems, Sinrobot Electronics has consistently remained in the top tier for many years. Leveraging its mature integrated drive and control technology foundation in Cartesian robots, it advances its layout in articulated robots. Its technical R&D advantages fall mainly into the following three levels.
First is the collaborative optimization of control and drive. Internally, Sinrobot Electronics can simultaneously adjust control strategies, servo parameters, and communication mechanisms. It is positioned to conduct joint debugging around specific robot bodies, reducing cross-supplier adaptation and problem localization communication steps, and providing support for the continuous optimization of dynamic response, motion smoothness, and trajectory accuracy.
Second is structural and cost optimization. Sinrobot Electronics reduces redundant configuration and assembly work through module integration, power supply consolidation, and connection simplification inside the electrical cabinet; adopting a common DC bus scheme also allows sharing regenerative energy when the operating conditions of each axis match.
Third is full-package solution delivery. Sinrobot Electronics pre-matches and jointly debugs control, drive, and electrical interfaces, helping to reduce the system integration workload for OEMs, shorten product introduction cycles, and facilitate subsequent parameter configuration, fault diagnosis, and maintenance for customers.
Conclusion
From a holistic industry perspective, integrated drive and control is not just an upgrade of hardware architecture but a technical revolution moving core components of industrial robots from discreteness to fusion. With continued breakthroughs by domestic enterprises in control algorithms, servo drives, and system integration, domestic integrated drive and control technology is leveraging comprehensive advantages in collaborative optimization, cost structure, and full-package delivery to drive industrial robots towards higher performance, lower costs, and easier deployment, solidifying the technical foundation of core components for the intelligent upgrade of Chinese manufacturing.