Texas Instruments sees $500 to $1,000 chip content per humanoid robot

Texas Instruments has put a price tag on the humanoid robot boom, at least for its part of it. The company expects each humanoid robot to carry between $500 and $1,000 worth of chips. It also expects robotics production to increase in 2027. Where the money goes inside a robot The company is positioning three product families for the job: gallium nitride (GaN) power devices, real-time microcontrollers such as its C2000 series, and precision analog components. GaN is a semiconductor material that can switch power on and off faster and with less waste than traditional silicon. TI’s GaN power stages, including the DRV7167 and its LMG series, are designed for motor joints running at PWM frequencies above 100 kHz. These GaN parts also produce lower losses than silicon MOSFETs. TI is targeting a sweet spot of 48V and 1 kW for these joint designs. The company has also published reference designs: TIDA-010979 targets robot joints and TIDA-010992 targets robot hands. Both use C2000 microcontrollers and integrated drivers for multi-axis control. Partners, customers and robots on the factory floor TI is already supplying components to Apptronik, one of the companies building humanoid robots. I...