As we stand on the threshold of a new year, it's important to glance back and appreciate the leaps we've made in the past 12 months. 2024 was an exceptional year for us at ROBOTIS as we continued to innovate, enhance, and expand our DYNAMIXEL Smart Servo offerings. To celebrate this great year, ROBOTIS would like to revisit some of our most memorable milestones, explore the groundbreaking projects powered by DYNAMIXEL, and celebrate the growth and advancements in our versatile range of smart servos. Whether you're a seasoned engineer, a robotics enthusiast, or just casually interested in the field, we hope this look back will not only inform but also inspire as we move forward into another exciting year in robotics. So, without further ado, let's delve into the dynamic, diverse, and digitally advanced world of DYNAMIXEL.

DYNAMIXEL Y - The Next Generation of Smart Servos

Let’s start off this recap by talking about the biggest piece of DYNAMIXEL news to occur this year- the launch of the new cutting-edge DYNAMIXEL Y series of high performance actuators. The DYNAMIXEL Y marks a significant milestone in the future of the DYNAMIXEL family. While DYNAMIXEL servos have long been known for providing a wide range of options to allow users to select the best fit for their use case, the DYNAMIXEL Y takes this to the next level by introducing a new modular design and construction, featuring a pancake style layout and a through-hole cable routing channel, available in a variety of different sizes and capabilities. Allowing users to build the perfect actuator for their application. As a part of this radical new capability, the DYNAMIXEL Y family also brings a brand new feature to the DYNAMIXEL lineup: optional mechanical brakes, to bring even more cutting edge capabilities into the DYNAMIXEL portfolio, along with the new OpenMANIPULATOR-Y robotic platform. This new entry into the DYNAMIXEL series is our most capable DYNAMIXEL yet, ready to power advanced robotics applications across a diverse range of industries. Its enhanced flexibility and customization options provide vast possibilities for both hobbyists and professionals alike, reaffirming ROBOTIS's commitment to fostering innovation and driving forward the future of robotics.

GAEMI - Everyone’s Favorite Ant!

It wasn't just the DYNAMIXEL Y series that made waves this year at ROBOTIS. The introduction and deployment of our GAEMI series of autonomous delivery robots marked another significant breakthrough. On January 31st, ROBOTIS became the first company in Korea to receive permission to deploy autonomous robot platforms on the streets! Since then, GAEMI has achieved international recognition, bagging the iF Design Award for both its indoor and outdoor models. But GAEMI's capabilities extend far beyond basic delivery tasks. It has found applications in a variety of outdoor venues such as camping sites and golf courses, providing valuable assistance in delivering items and performing other tasks. GAEMI is also adept at performing garbage collection duties and security patrols, showcasing its versatility as an autonomous platform. Currently prevalent in the Korean and Japanese markets, we're excited to see GAEMI broaden its horizons across the globe in 2025!

Partnerships and Collaborations

2024 was a fruitful year for collaborations and strategic partnerships that propelled our DYNAMIXEL technology to new frontiers.

Starting in the healthcare sector, we launched a verification test of our indoor autonomous driving robot GAEMI at Japan's 'Shonan Kamakura General Hospital'. GAEMI was also selected for trial deployments at Hakodate Goryokaku Hospital and Hakodate Central Hospital in Hokkaido, run in partnership with Senxeed Robotics and Sumitomo Corporation Hokkaido. In the educational healthcare sector, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital introduced robots to perform delivery tasks. These collaborations marked a significant step towards integrating robotics in healthcare operations.

GAEMI is also making strides in everyday deployment of robotics: our partnership with the coffee franchise 'Coffee Evanhada' led to an innovative 'unmanned food and beverage store operation and solution development' project, with plans to introduce up to 100 of our outdoor GAEMI robots. This initiative has the potential to revolutionize the way we think about food and beverage services.

We also made strides in the building management sector, our partnership with HDC Labs led to a project to introduce robot services within apartment complexes, strengthening our presence in the home automation market. And a business agreement with Maxerve, laid the groundwork for plans to expand our autonomous robot services to include security and cleaning capabilities.

Last but not least, our collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to develop robot technology with advanced physical intelligence was a milestone in advancing the field of robotics, backed by Korean government support of up to 10 billion won!

Each of these partnerships brought unique challenges and opportunities, reflecting the versatility and adaptability of DYNAMIXEL servos, and setting the stage for even more exciting collaborations in the future.

DYNAMIXEL in Research & Education

The year 2024 witnessed our DYNAMIXEL servos being essential components in various groundbreaking research projects and educational initiatives.

Imitation learning from human demonstrations saw significant advancement with the development of Mobile ALOHA. This whole-body teleoperation system for data collection allowed the completion of complex mobile manipulation tasks like sautéing shrimp and entering elevators.

The open-source Koch v1.1 robot arm, which uses DYNAMIXEL XL430 and XL330 servo motors, further showcased the versatility of our products. The design, inspired by the GELLO project, was created to serve as an efficient equipment for robot learning purposes.

Our servos also played a key role in the creation of LEAP Hand, a low-cost, dexterous, anthropomorphic hand designed for machine learning research. This novel hand, despite its low cost, outperformed its competitor, Allegro Hand, in all experiments.

The Versatile Motion Priors (VMP) project by Disney Research Hub, demonstrated the potential of our servos in entertainment robotics. Their two-stage technique enabled dynamic character control with a full-body kinematic motion reference.

These use cases highlight the flexibility of DYNAMIXEL servos and their ability to adapt to myriad applications. Our involvement in these interesting projects illustrates our commitment to support and foster innovation in robotics research and education. We are appreciative of the creativity and ingenuity of the global community and look forward to seeing how DYNAMIXEL technology will continue to be leveraged in 2025 and beyond.

Global Expos and Events 

In addition to the previously mentioned accomplishments from ROBOTIS’ industry partners and the robotics research community as a whole, ROBOTIS itself has been making appearances around the world to show off our DYNAMIXELs at the world’s premier tradeshows.

This year, ROBOTIS made appearances at:

Automation World

A premier trade show that showcases the latest technologies and solutions in automation, bringing together leading companies and industry professionals from around the world. The event covers a wide array of industrial sectors such as manufacturing, process industries, and logistics, and includes exhibits on control systems, robotics, machine vision, and other automation technologies.

Hannover Messe

Hannover Messe is the world's leading trade fair for industrial technology. Held annually in Hannover, Germany, the fair covers all key technology areas including automation, robotics, industrial software, drive systems, energy technologies, and more. The event attracts exhibitors and visitors from every sector, ranging from mechanical and plant engineering to the automotive industry.

Automate

Automate is one of North America’s broadest automation events, showcasing a wide range of automation technologies from high-tech robotics to advanced vision systems. The event brings together leading industry experts, manufacturers, and technology providers, and offers educational sessions, networking events, and exhibits that provide insights into the latest automation trends and applications.

ICRA (International Conference on Robotics and Automation)

ICRA is a flagship conference of the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society. It is an annual gathering of the global robotics community and features a wide range of technical presentations, workshops, and tutorials on the latest advancements in robotics, automation, control systems, and artificial intelligence. The event also includes robotics challenges and an exhibition showcasing the latest robotic technologies.

IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions)

IAAPA is the largest international trade association for permanently situated amusement facilities worldwide. The annual IAAPA Expo is the leading global conference and trade show for the attractions industry. It provides a platform for professionals to network, share ideas, and learn about the newest technologies and trends in the amusement parks and attractions sector, from theme parks and water parks to family entertainment centers and technology solutions.

Community Engagement and Growth

Last but not least, ROBOTIS would like to take this opportunity to thank and highlight some of the members of our community who’ve contributed to the DYNAMIXEL community as a whole. As for where to start, it would be impossible to talk about the achievements of the DYNAMIXEL community as a whole without mentioning Alexander Koch and his Low Cost Robot Arm design that served as an inspiration and starting point for so many new people stepping into physicalized AI and machine learning applications. This platform was by far the widest-adopted new DYNAMIXEL system ever designed, and helped to bring cutting edge research capabilities to anyone who might be interested. Aside from this major contribution, I’d like to thank a few other DYNAMIXEL projects for taking the time to create excellent projects that anyone out there can follow along and build themselves:

Open Duck Mini

Open Duck Mini is an ongoing open-source project that aims to create a miniature version of the BDX Droid by Disney, standing at about 35 centimeters tall with its legs extended. This project is a perfect example of community-driven innovation, where hobbyists, engineers, and enthusiasts collaborate and contribute to the development of a unique robot.

Q8bot PCB Robot

The Q8bot PCB Robot is an open-source project focusing on creating a miniature quadruped robot. The robot is powered by 8 DYNAMIXEL motors and a Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32C3 microcontroller. The Q8bot is devoid of any external wires and cables as everything plugs directly into a center PCB. This design significantly reduces complexity, weight, and cost, making the robot more accessible and user-friendly.

Here at ROBOTIS we deeply appreciate the dedication, creativity, and enthusiasm of our community that often exceed our expectations. The open-source projects like Open Duck Mini and Q8bot PCB Robot not only showcase the versatility and adaptability of our DYNAMIXEL servos but also contribute to the advancement of the robotics field. Our community's passion for robotics is the driving force behind our dedication to continuous innovation and improvement.

In conclusion

We are excited about the potential of our partnerships and collaborations, and we look forward to seeing how DYNAMIXEL technology will continue to be leveraged in 2025 and beyond. We also hope to see more of our community members at global expos and events, where we can connect and share our collective passion for robotics.

As we look towards the future, we remain committed to our mission of empowering individuals in the robotics field through our DYNAMIXEL technology. We are eager to see the new ways our products will be applied in the coming year.

Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to sharing another exciting year with you.