• High Degrees of Freedom and Multi-Axis Coordination: Ensures synchronous operation of dozens to hundreds of motors, avoiding delays or misalignment.
• Real-Time Response and High-Precision Control: EtherCAT’s microsecond-level communication cycles support precise multi-axis motor control.
• Multi-Sensor Integration: Combines IMU, torque, pressure, temperature, and vision modules to support real-time computation and decision-making.
• Dexterous Hand Fine Operations: Multiple servo motors or miniature actuators coordinate to ensure both firm gripping and delicate handling.
• Tactile Feedback: Pressure, sliding, and temperature sensors provide real-time tactile information to enhance interaction accuracy.
• Modular Design: The EtherCAT daisy-chain topology simplifies wiring and supports rapid integration and expansion of multiple modules.
• Safety and Reliability: Redundancy, error detection, and safety protocols secure stable operation in demanding environments.
• Intelligent Interaction: AI and edge computing enable real-time strategy adjustments for smoother human–machine collaboration.

In summary, humanoid robots and dexterous hands are inherently complex systems characterized by high flexibility, multi-module integration, and multi-sensor coordination. Leveraging low latency, strong synchronization, modular support, and robust safety mechanisms, EtherCAT has become the ideal industrial-grade communication backbone. It ensures real-time coordination of multi-axis motors and finger movements, supports extensive module chaining, synchronizes control commands, sensor data, and safety signals, while effectively reducing system complexity. Without high-speed communication, humanoid robots cannot achieve natural and fluid motion; without real-time feedback, dexterous hands cannot perform fine operations. Thus, EtherCAT has emerged as the optimal solution for full-body motion control in humanoid robots.

• Dual-Core Architecture Role Division: The Cortex-M7 handles application control, multi-axis motor coordination, and sensor feedback, while the Cortex-M4 is dedicated to EtherCAT industrial communication. Operating independently, the two cores ensure real-time performance and reliability, shorten overall cycle time, and enhance motion control sensitivity and precision.
• High-Integration ESC Microcontroller: Integrates a high-performance dual-core MCU, ESC, dual high-speed Ethernet PHY, and large-capacity Flash within a compact 13×13mm BGA package. Designed to reduce external components, it delivers reliable computing and communication for space-limited humanoid robot joints and dexterous hands.
• Large-Capacity Memory Configuration: Integrates 2MB dual-bank Flash and 1MB SRAM to meet complex motor control and real-time computing demands.
• Compact Package Design: Employs TFBGA packaging to enhance heat dissipation, minimize PCB footprint, and lower hardware costs.
• Precise Motor Drive: Equipped with high-resolution timers, PWM, ADC, and incremental encoders to enable accurate multi-axis motor control, while supporting integration of vision, tactile, pressure, and torque sensors.
• Versatile Interface Support: Integrates Ethernet MAC, USB 2.0 OTG, SPI, UART, I²C, and CAN-FD to address diverse requirements in smart manufacturing and robotics.
• Communication Security Assurance: Equipped with AES/TDES/HASH/HMAC hardware encryption engines, along with ROP/PCROP/Anti-tamper technologies to ensure data and firmware security.
• Reliability and Safety: Featuring a dual-core architecture with advanced fault detection, EtherCAT redundancy, and flexible node branching to meet the stringent safety requirements of humanoid robots.
• Low-Power Design: Provides multiple power management modes to reduce energy consumption and extend operating endurance, making it suitable for long-duration service and industrial applications.
• Modular Expansion Capability: Serves as the core for joint or finger modules, interconnected through EtherCAT topology. Supports multi-module collaboration and simplifies system expansion and maintenance.

ASIX AxRobot EtherCAT 7-Axis Force-Assisted Control Robot solution integrates a motor assist controller capable of real-time abnormal torque detection and collision recognition, enabling rapid shutdown to ensure operator safety. The solution adopts a modular motor drive design to reduce joint driver board space and lower hardware costs. With EtherCAT daisy-chain topology, communication is simplified, minimizing wiring complexity and maintenance effort—particularly suitable for humanoid and collaborative robots. The AX58400 features high-resolution timers and multi-channel PWM to precisely drive finger joints of dexterous hands, supporting multi-DOF coordinated control and integrating multiple I/O and sensors to ensure natural and smooth hand movements. Through EtherCAT high-speed communication, tactile feedback and control commands are synchronized, while the dual-core architecture simultaneously supports control algorithms and AI edge inference, providing intelligent real-time feedback. Its high level of integration makes modules more compact, reduces PCB space and cost, and maintains performance and stability, delivering a safe, precise, and efficient technological foundation for humanoid robots and dexterous hands.

The AX58400 EtherCAT slave controller with a dual-core MCU adopts a system-in-package (SiP) based on STMicroelectronics’ STM32H755 microcontroller, delivering both high performance and high integration in its hardware architecture. Fully compatible with the STM32 MCU ecosystem, it provides significant advantages for humanoid robot and dexterous hand designs, enabling design teams to efficiently complete the entire process from prototyping to mass production.

AX58400 supports mainstream development environments such as STM32Cube, Keil, and IAR, enabling engineers to quickly get started and leverage real-time debugging, simulation, and firmware update tools to shorten development cycles. Meanwhile, the STM32 ecosystem further offers software packages for EtherCAT, motor control, and sensor drivers. Developers can directly apply sample programs from the STM32 motor control development kit to rapidly build humanoid robot joints or dexterous hand modules. In addition, STM32’s global developer community offers forums, technical documentation, and open-source projects, allowing design teams to access immediate support and reduce development risks. With this mature ecosystem, teams no longer need to develop communication protocols or control algorithms from scratch, significantly reducing manpower and time costs while accelerating time-to-market.

In summary, by integrating the AX58400 with the STM32 MCU ecosystem—leveraging tools, software, community support, and modular design—humanoid robot and dexterous hand products can be rapidly designed, validated, and mass-produced. This not only shortens R&D cycles but also reduces costs and risks, providing a solid foundation for industrial commercialization.

The AX58101 is a highly integrated 4-port EtherCAT subdevice controller (ESC) featuring dual Fast Ethernet PHYs and dual MII interfaces. It supports port swapping between ESC port 0 and port 2, offering flexible options to meet diverse network topology requirements. In mainstream 8-port EtherCAT junction designs, only three AX58101 chips combined with two external PHYs are sufficient to complete the design with ease. Compared with traditional solutions that typically require at least six EtherCAT chips and six external PHYs, the AX58101 significantly reduces hardware costs and PCB space.

In humanoid robot applications, the AX58101 serves as an EtherCAT junction, working with a central EtherCAT MainDevice and multiple AX58400 EtherCAT SubDevices to establish a high-performance modular communication architecture. This configuration enables precise, real-time control of multi-axis motors in the head, arms, legs, and dexterous hands. Each SubDevice can independently drive multiple motors while integrating vision, tactile, pressure, and torque sensors to deliver immediate feedback, resulting in smoother and more natural movements. By combining EtherCAT daisy-chain and junction hybrid topologies, the architecture allows flexible module connections, simplifies wiring, and improves maintenance efficiency.

To further enhance system reliability and safety, ASIX offers an AX58101 EtherCAT junction redundancy design. Branch endpoints can be looped back to another junction port, forming a ring communication path. In the event of a link failure, the system automatically switches to the backup channel, ensuring uninterrupted communication—particularly important in high-risk or complex environments. In advanced humanoid robot systems, multiple EtherCAT MainDevices can be deployed, each managing real-time control of different body parts to improve motion coordination and adaptability. In summary, the EtherCAT junction topology enabled by AX58101 not only supports parallel multi-module operation but also strengthens safety, reliability, and scalability through redundancy and multi-MainDevices architecture, making it an ideal foundation for humanoid robot communication and drive solutions.