A Planetary Pivot - Scaling Mobile Robotics with Modern Actuator Concepts

As autonomous mobile robots expand into unstructured and unpredictable environments, traditional actuator designs rooted in rigid precision no longer suffice.

This white paper from maxon explores how modern control paradigms—driven by machine learning, high-performance simulations, and visual feedback—are unlocking a new class of actuators that prioritize compliance, backdriveability, and system scalability.

By shifting complexity from hardware to software, robots can now operate effectively with simpler, lower-cost actuators—without compromising performance or safety.

The paper outlines the trade-offs and engineering considerations across three core gear technologies: strain-wave, cycloidal, and planetary.

It makes the case for planetary gears as a practical foundation for scalable, torque-dense robotic joints—highlighting maxon's own High Efficiency Joints (HEJ) as a prime example.