From Interconnect Engineering to Ecosystem Collaboration: TE Connectivity's Dual Roles in the Robotics Industry Chain
On March 20th, TE Connectivity (hereinafter referred to as "TE") held the "Innovation Conference on Empowering Smart Factories with Core Robot Technologies" in Suzhou. Through forms such as technical exchanges and factory visits, the event invited enterprises in the upstream and downstream of the robot industry chain and partners in the ecosystem to discuss core technologies and implementation issues, and built a communication and docking platform for the industry. The discussions at the conference reflected a common background: robots are accelerating from technology verification to engineering and large - scale implementation.
This year, the government work report proposed "Artificial Intelligence +" for the third consecutive year and put forward "creating a new form of intelligent economy" for the first time, promoting the accelerated commercialization and large - scale application in key industries, and including embodied intelligence in the future industrial layout. Driven by policies and application scenarios, the focus of the robot industry has shifted from "function realization" to "stable operation and replicable delivery under real working conditions".
As the complexity of robot systems continues to increase, higher requirements are put forward for stable connection and reliable transmission in each link from perception, decision - making to execution. Although connection technology is often regarded as a basic link, it directly affects the stability and consistency of the whole machine under real working conditions. In this context, on the one hand, TE participates in the construction of robot systems with interconnection solutions; on the other hand, it also promotes more efficient docking and collaboration between the upstream and downstream by building a communication platform.
Interconnection Solution Provider: From Components to System Architecture, Interconnection Design for Engineering
With the continuous emergence of new forms such as collaborative robots, humanoid robots, and embodied intelligent robots, the complexity of robot systems has increased rapidly. For embodied intelligence, connection is not just about "connecting"; it also requires completing the interconnection design and engineering implementation at the system level around key links such as the whole machine, joint modules, communication, and high - speed data in a limited space, and maintaining continuous stability in an environment of high vibration, high - density wiring, and high - speed data transmission caused by long - term movement. This means that the connection solution needs to deal with multiple engineering constraints at the same time: the space limitations of miniaturization and lightweight, the anti - vibration and anti - impact capabilities under dynamic working conditions, and the requirements for signal stability of high - speed data links.
In practical applications, the difficulty of the connection solution often lies not in "maximizing" a single indicator, but more in whether a replicable balance can be found among space, reliability, and long - term movement stability. For example, how to alleviate the contradiction between "limited space" and "reliability requirements"? Take TE MINI I/O as an example. Compared with the traditional RJ45, its volume is reduced by about 75%, and its anti - vibration ability is increased by more than 3 times. It can stably transmit Ethernet data in an environment with limited space and vibration impact, which is more suitable for the requirements of embodied intelligent robots for long - term stable operation.
In addition to the performance improvement of single components, more and more robot projects need to coordinate the interconnection architecture from the whole - machine level. As the number of functional modules increases and the internal data links become more dense, the number of high - speed data interfaces to be deployed inside the whole machine also increases. In humanoid robots, multiple high - speed interfaces usually need to be deployed at the head or joint positions to connect key modules such as IMUs and binocular cameras. These interfaces not only need to support high - speed data transmission but also must withstand the mechanical stress caused by vibration, impact, and cable pulling in a continuous movement environment for a long time.
In project practice, this contradiction can be specifically reflected in the selection of Type - C interfaces: consumer - grade interfaces are difficult to meet the reliability requirements under high vibration impact and stress pulling; while automotive - grade or screw - locked solutions, although more stable in performance, are too large in volume to be deployed in extreme spaces such as the head and joints. To address this challenge, TE has developed a miniaturized latching Type - C connector for humanoid robots. Its volume is significantly smaller than that of automotive - grade or screw - locked solutions, and at the same time, the latching structure enhances the anti - vibration, anti - impact, and anti - pulling capabilities, achieving a stable high - speed connection in a compact space.
Industrial Ecosystem Connector: From Technical Collaboration to Ecosystem Co - construction, Improving the Alignment Efficiency of the Industry Chain
The robot system involves multiple links such as sensors, drive systems, control algorithms, software platforms, and whole - machine manufacturing. For the industry to move towards large - scale application, in addition to single - point technological breakthroughs, all links in the industry chain need to reach a consensus on standard understanding, working condition definition, interface collaboration, verification methods, etc., to achieve more efficient collaboration and iteration.
At the "Innovation Conference on Empowering Smart Factories with Core Robot Technologies" on March 20th, as one of the organizers, TE brought together many robot enterprises and industrial partners. Through technical sharing, case exchanges, and factory visits, participants in the upstream and downstream of the industry chain had face - to - face communication. Putting the experiences and needs scattered in different links into the same context helps all parties align more quickly and reduces the communication cost from "individual optimization" to "system evolution".
At the same time, around application scenarios with different maturity levels, TE has also formed a clear collaboration method: for relatively mature scenarios, standardized connection solutions are adopted to support more efficient selection and large - scale deployment; for emerging fields with rapid evolution, TE participates in the product development stage earlier, and through pre - collaborative and joint development, transforms new requirements into implementable products and solutions in the iteration.
Figure 1: The scene of the "Innovation Conference on Empowering Smart Factories with Core Robot Technologies" on March 20th, Source: Official
Localized Manufacturing and Engineering System: Transforming Experience into Replicable Delivery Capability
Collaboration and implementation cannot be separated from the support of manufacturing and engineering systems. Having been deeply involved in China for nearly 40 years, TE relies on a localization strategy that includes local manufacturing, local talents, local R & D design, local supply chain, and local customers to be closer to the changing customer structure, wiring methods, and the iteration rhythm of application scenarios. Taking the Suzhou factory as an example, TE combines the globally unified high - standard manufacturing system with the Chinese market's demand for rapid response, forming a closed - loop of R & D, engineering verification, and manufacturing collaboration.
For connectors, the key to supporting long - cycle dynamic life lies in whether the engineering design and verification can form a rapid closed - loop and whether the capabilities can be stably replicated in batches. By transforming engineering experience into a manufacturing and verification system and combining it with local supply chain collaboration, more certain delivery rhythm and consistency guarantee can be provided during the process of customers moving from prototypes to mass production.
Figure 2: TE's Suzhou Factory of the Industrial Automation and Electrical Division, Source: Official
From single - point performance to system collaboration, the connotation of connection in the robot industry is expanding: it is not only related to the stable operation of equipment under complex working conditions but also affects the alignment efficiency between different links in the industry chain. The communication and docking represented by this Suzhou conference also provide a reference sample for the industry's collaborative exploration under real needs and engineering constraints.