Hotter Than the Humanoid Boom: Why Gear Reducers and Drive Systems Are the Real Hotspot

These days, the market spotlight is fixed on cobots and humanoids. But if you’ve spent enough time on the ground, it quickly becomes clear where the real money gets stuck—and where it starts to flow. What’s harder than putting an impressive robot on display is making that body move for a long time, with precision, and over and over again. At the center of that cost structure are reducers, motors, drives, and the broader actuation system. In many cases, more than half of a robot’s total cost is decided here. The more humanoids take off, the more value and pricing power shift toward reducers, motors, and actuation systems rather than the finished robot itself.

The problem is that these core components have long been protected behind the walls of Japan and Europe. Harmonic reducers in particular—often called the heart of a robot joint—have been dominated globally by Japan’s Harmonic Drive, while precision reducers and actuation systems more broadly have also long been the domain of overseas leaders. That is why the moves now being made by Korean companies matter. Still, we need to stay clear-eyed. Just because localization has begun does not mean the board has already been overturned. For now, it is more accurate to describe the situation as early mass production, limited deployment, and phased expansion. Even so, the signal is unmistakable. Behind the boom in finished robots, the component ecosystem is finally beginning to build a name for itself.

Reducers & Drive Systems — The Robot’s Joints, and the Biggest Bottleneck (5 companies)

Reducers and drive systems—the components that form a robot’s joints—have always been a bottleneck. Tiny errors can undermine the quality of the entire motion, and if supply gets disrupted, production plans themselves start to wobble. That is why this area has never been just a technology issue; it has always been a supply chain issue as well. The most meaningful change in Korea’s robot industry right now is not how many finished robots are being made, but which companies have started making reducers and drive systems with their own hands—and to what extent.

SBB Tech is often cited as the flagship case of localizing harmonic, or strain wave, gear reducers. But it is important not to overlook the fact that it is still in the early stages of mass production. This is a market where Japan’s Harmonic Drive has overwhelming dominance. SPG is aiming to expand into robotics on the back of its precision reducers and geared motors, but for now robotics remains a small part of the mix and geared motors are still the core business. ROBOTIS has a clear presence through its DYNAMIXEL smart actuators, which integrate the motor, reducer, and control into a single unit. Its supply record with Boston Dynamics and others is not just a decorative label. Hyosung R&M is emerging as a humanoid drive system supplier with integrated drive systems combining industrial servo motors, drives, and reducers. And then there is Neuromeka, which makes the collaborative robot Indy and in 2025 became the first in Korea to declare 100% in-house integration of drive systems—meaning reducers, motors, and drives. That carries real symbolic weight. It is a declaration that the company intends to go beyond buying parts and assembling them, and instead design and integrate the robot’s tendons and joints itself. Not every company is at that level yet. Still, this is where the signals of a changing landscape are coming from.

Company	Core focus
SBB Tech	Flagship domestic player in harmonic (strain wave) gear reducers — for robot joints, still in early mass production (Japan’s Harmonic Drive dominates globally)
SPG	Precision reducers and geared motors — expanding into robotics (for now, robotics is a small share and geared motors remain the mainstay)
ROBOTIS	DYNAMIXEL smart actuators (integrated motor + reducer + control) — supplied to Boston Dynamics and others
Hyosung R&M	Integrated drive systems combining industrial servo motors + drives + reducers — emerging as a humanoid drive system supplier
Neuromeka	Collaborative robot Indy + first in Korea to achieve 100% in-house integration of drive systems (reducers, motors, drives) in 2025

Motion Control & Linear Motion — Making Robots Move with Precision (4 companies)

If reducers and motors are the joints, then motion control and linear motion components are closer to the nervous system that refines a robot’s posture and trajectory. Spinning well and moving precisely are two very different things. And the more the line between factory automation and robotics blurs, the more powerful this segment becomes. The real depth of the robotics industry shows up not in how many robot arms were sold, but in how tightly motion control and linear motion components are integrated into a company’s own ecosystem.

RS Automation’s strength lies in its full-stack lineup of robot motion controllers (MMC), servo drives, and encoders, and it also has a supply track record with Rockwell Automation. That makes it less of a simple parts maker and more of a company that handles control architecture. Samick THK has a clear presence in linear motion components such as LM guides and ball screws. It stands on a history of technology transfer and joint ventures with Japan’s THK, but the fact that control remains with Korea’s Samick is also meaningful from an industry standpoint. Fastech is unlisted, but it has built deep closed-loop expertise in step motors, Ezi-SERVO servo drives, and motion control. KNR Systems combines hydraulic actuators, core hydraulic components, and structural/durability test simulators, and it has a supply record with Boston Dynamics. Even if electric drive is the dominant trend, not every robot and test environment can be explained by electrification alone. In the end, the question always comes back to this: who can make systems withstand real loads and real durability demands?

Company	Core focus
RS Automation	Full stack of robot motion controllers (MMC), servo drives, and encoders — supplied to Rockwell Automation
Samick THK	Linear motion (LM) components such as LM guides and ball screws — technology transfer and joint venture with Japan’s THK (control remains with Korea’s Samick)
Fastech	Step motors, servo drives (Ezi-SERVO), and motion control — specializes in closed-loop systems (unlisted)
KNR Systems	Hydraulic actuators and core hydraulic components + structural/durability test simulators — supplied to Boston Dynamics

Sensors & Vision — The Robot’s Eyes (2 companies)

No matter how good a robot’s joints and drive system are, if it can’t see, it hesitates. Sensors and vision are the robot’s eyes—the final decision-making layer that determines how reliable it is on the job. In industrial settings especially, “seeing well” directly means fewer defects and shorter cycle times. The more dazzling the packaging around robot intelligence becomes, the more the real money ultimately flows to sensor and vision technologies that can accurately read objects and space on the factory floor.

Laon People has been building a presence in smart factories for secondary batteries, semiconductors, and steel with its AI machine vision inspection solution, NAVI AI. It may not have the human-like form factor of a humanoid, but in factories, this kind of vision is what drives real robot productivity. Namuga makes 3D ToF depth-sensing camera modules and has mass-produced 3D modules for Samsung robot vacuum cleaners. Technology that lets robots perceive space in three dimensions is no longer something confined to cleaning robots. Whether it’s collaborative robots or service robots, more and more machines will need depth information going forward—and when that happens, what matters is who already has mass-production experience.

Company	Core focus
Laon People	AI machine vision inspection (NAVI AI) — smart factories for secondary batteries, semiconductors, and steel
Namuga	3D ToF depth-sensing camera modules — mass production of 3D modules for Samsung robot vacuum cleaners

Collaborative, Industrial, and Transfer Robots — Finished Products That String Components Together (3 companies)

Finished-robot makers are where the performance of component suppliers gets translated into the market first. That’s why when you look at collaborative robot, humanoid, and transfer robot companies, you can also read the speed and direction of localization in robot components. On the surface, it looks like a battle among finished products, but once you crack them open, it ultimately comes down to which component ecosystem each company has behind it. The real edge of a finished-robot company is determined less by body design and more by how reliably it can integrate key components and bring them to market.

Rainbow Robotics spans collaborative robots, dual-arm robots, and humanoids, and Samsung Electronics has become its largest shareholder and folded it into its subsidiary lineup. This is not just a routine equity headline—it should be seen as a development that will affect how robot components are sourced and developed in Korea going forward. T-Robotics is strong in vacuum transfer robots and transport modules for semiconductors and OLEDs, and it has a supply track record with Applied Materials. It may not have the same flair as flashy humanoids, but on actual industrial sites, this kind of transfer and handling technology often generates bigger revenue. Yuil Robotics combines industrial articulated robots, collaborative robots, and injection-molding automation systems. In the end, robots are sold not as standalone units but as systems. So even when looking at finished-robot companies, it makes more sense to focus less on the arm’s degrees of freedom and more on how they bundle components and automation know-how into their own system.

Company	Core focus
Rainbow Robotics	Collaborative robots, dual-arm robots, humanoids — Samsung Electronics as largest shareholder (~35%, consolidated as subsidiary)
T-Robotics	Semiconductor and OLED vacuum transfer robots and transport modules — supplied to Applied Materials
Yuil Robotics	Industrial articulated and collaborative robots + injection-molding automation systems

What to Watch Going Forward

As investment in humanoids ramps up, the timeline for localizing key components in Korea is also likely to accelerate. Moves like Samsung bringing Rainbow Robotics into the fold and Hyundai investing in Boston Dynamics are not just about the robot body itself. They ultimately extend to the joints, actuators, motors, drives, and sensors that go inside. To properly build a humanoid robot, you first need stable component sourcing and proven performance. And that, more than anything, is the most practical force driving the growth of a domestic supply chain. The bigger the dream of finished robots becomes, the more it starts to look like the component makers’ moment is coming. At this point, that argument is quite persuasive.

That said, there is no need to get carried away. SBB Tech’s localization of harmonic reducers is still in the early stages of mass production, and SPG is still more clearly centered on geared motors for now. Localization does not automatically mean immediate global substitution. Even so, milestones like Neuromeka’s plan to internalize 100% of its drive system by 2025 are clearly different from what we saw before. In the end, the bigger business may not be who makes the most human-like humanoid walker, but who can mass-produce reducers and drive systems reliably and deploy them across many different robots. If you ask where the real money is, I still find myself looking first not at the outer shell of the finished robot, but at the components quietly turning inside it.

※ This article organizes company names, core businesses, and market positions based on publicly available materials verified online, and some assessments reflect the author’s personal views. It is not intended as a direct basis for investment decisions.

Written: July 2026. Ealexandro