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차세대 임보디드 AI 로봇 통신 네트워크 토폴로지 및 칩 업계(2026년)
Next-Generation Embodied AI Robot Communication Network Topology and Chip Industry Report, 2026
상품코드 : 1930695
리서치사 : ResearchInChina
발행일 : 2026년 01월
페이지 정보 : 영문 300 Pages
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한글목차

대규모 AI 모델과 물리적 실체를 통합한 차세대 AI 로봇인 체화된 AI 로봇은 '계산 지능'에서 '물리적 지능'으로의 도약을 이루고 있습니다. 대규모 모델이 로봇의 '뇌'라면, 통신 네트워크는 로봇의 '신경계'라고 할 수 있습니다. 체화된 AI 로봇은 고도로 복잡한 분산형 시스템입니다. 그 '두뇌'는 몸 전체에 있는 수십 개의 센서에서 얻은 방대한 이질적인 데이터를 밀리초 단위로 처리하고, 마이크로초 단위의 동기화 명령을 액추에이터에 내려야 합니다.

2026년이라는 중요한 전환기에 ResearchInChina는 로봇의 내부 및 외부 통신 아키텍처가 전례 없는 재구축에 직면해 있음을 발견했습니다. 기존의 산업용 로봇 통신 아키텍처는 물리적 한계에 다다랐습니다. CAN 버스에 대한 EtherCAT의 치수 축소 공격부터 존 아키텍처의 물리적 변화를 거쳐 NearLink와 같은 새로운 프로토콜의 돌파구까지, 통신 칩 및 모듈 시장은 번영을 맞이하고 있습니다.

본 보고서는 임베디드 AI 로봇 통신 아키텍처의 산업 체인을 조사 분석하여 차세대 임베디드 AI 에이전트를 뒷받침하는 6가지 주요 통신 동향을 파악합니다.

트렌드1 : 시장의 급격한 성장과 칩의 전문화로 통신 모듈의 시장 규모는 100억 위안에 육박할 것으로 예상됩니다.

임베디드 AI 로봇의 양산을 앞두고 통신 링크의 가치는 '범용 산업 부품'에서 '전문 핵심 부품'으로의 구조적 재편이 진행되고 있습니다. ResearchInChina의 최신 추정에 따르면, 이 시장 부문의 통신 모듈 및 전용 칩에 대한 수요는 선형 성장 궤도에서 벗어나 기하급수적인 성장기에 접어들 것으로 예상됩니다.

트렌드 2 : 내부 통신 프로토콜을 위한 EtherCAT 솔루션의 보급률은 매년 증가할 것으로 예상됩니다.

오랫동안 로봇 내부 통신은 USB, CAN, RS485 등 여러 프로토콜이 공존하는 '파편화된' 상황이었습니다. 그러나 임베디드 AI 에이전트의 자유도 증가(보통 40개 이상)와 모션 제어 정확도 요구가 높아짐에 따라 기존 CAN 버스의 대역폭과 실시간 성능의 병목현상이 나타나고 있습니다.

트렌드 3 : 네트워크 토폴로지의 재구축이 분산형에서 구역 집중형으로의 전환으로 이어집니다.

촉각피부, 멀티뷰비전 등 센서 수가 급증함에 따라 기존의 포인트 투 포인트 배선 방식으로는 로봇 내부의 배선 하니스가 비대해져 무게 증가뿐만 아니라 신뢰성 저하라는 문제점이 발생하고 있습니다.

트렌드 4 : 최종 통신 통합에서 I3C 프로토콜은 덱스터러스 핸드의 기판 내 상호연결을 해결하는 핵심 기술로 부상하고 있습니다.

덱스터러스 핸드는 내장형 AI 로봇에서 가장 복잡한 엔드 이펙터로, 매우 좁은 공간에 수십 개의 센서와 모터를 통합해야 합니다. 기존의 CAN이나 UART 인터페이스는 독립적인 트랜시버나 수정발진기가 필요하여 PCB의 넓은 면적을 차지하고 배선을 복잡하게 만들었습니다.

트렌드 5 : 소프트웨어-하드웨어 통합형 '데이터 버스'에 대해 DDS와 ROS 2는 어떻게 분산형 신경 중추를 구축할 것인가?

소프트웨어 정의 로봇 시대에서 통신은 단순한 비트의 전송이 아니라 데이터의 분배이기도 합니다. ROS 2와 그 기반이 되는 DDS(Data Distribution Service)는 기본 기본 통신 미들웨어로서 로봇의 '지능 중추'를 구성합니다.

트렌드 6 : 5G-A와 NearLink 기술의 시너지 효과로 클라우드 엣지 단말과 로봇의 고대역폭 실시간 상호 작용을 지원합니다.

임베디드 AI 에이전트는 강력한 '내부 신경계'뿐만 아니라, 클라우드-엣지-단말의 연계를 위한 민첩한 '외부 신경계'가 필요합니다. 셀룰러 네트워크(5G-A)와 근거리 통신(Wi-Fi/NearLink)은 단순한 대체가 아닌 장기적인 보완적 공존 패턴을 형성할 것으로 보입니다.

목차

제1장 임보디드 AI 로봇 통신 네트워크 토폴로지

제2장 임보디드 AI 로봇 다양한 시나리오의 통신 용도

제3장 주요 임보디드 AI 로봇 바디 제조업체 통신 네트워크 전개 계획

제4장 중국의 통신 칩·모듈 벤더

제5장 해외 통신 칩·모듈 벤더

KSM
영문 목차

영문목차

AI Robot Communication Network and Chip Research: Six Evolution Trends and Chip Transformation

Embodied AI robots, namely the new generation of AI robots integrating large AI models and physical entities, are undergoing a leap from "computational intelligence" to "physical intelligence". If large models are the "brain" of robots, then communication networks are their "nervous system". An embodied AI robot is a highly complex distributed system. Its "brain" needs to process massive heterogeneous data from dozens of sensors across its body in milliseconds and issue microsecond-level synchronous commands to actuators.

At the critical node year 2026, ResearchInChina has observed that the internal and external communication architectures of robots are facing unprecedented restructuring. Traditional industrial robot communication architectures have approached physical limits. From the dimension reduction strike of EtherCAT on CAN bus, to the physical transformation of zonal architecture, and then to the breakthrough of new protocols such as NearLink, the communication chip and module market is ushering in a boom period.

The Next-Generation Embodied AI Robot Communication Network Topology and Chip Industry Report, 2026 conducts in-depth research on the industry chain of communication architecture of embodied AI robots. It covers 11 robot manufacturers, 12 Chinese communication module vendors and 13 foreign communication module vendors, and reveals six key communication trends supporting the next-generation embodied AI agents.

Trend 1: In Market Boom and Chip Specialization, Communication Modules Will Witness A Nearly RMB10 Billion Increment.

In the run-up to mass production of embodied AI robots, the value of communication links is undergoing a structural restructuring from "general industrial components" to "specialized core components". According to the latest estimates by ResearchInChina, the demand for communication modules and specialized chips in this market segment will break away from the linear growth track and enter an exponential growth period.

In particular, the EtherCAT Slave Controller (ESC) is emerging as the core incremental driver of this growth. Differing from traditional industrial automation, a humanoid robot has more than 40 joint degrees of freedom, placing a very big demand on the integration and real-time performance of communication nodes.

As shown in the table below, the embodied AI robot dedicated communication market is expected to expand rapidly from USD42 million in 2026 to around USD300 million in 2030.

In addition, FPGA chips are gaining increasing strategic importance in communication links, gradually forming a "FPGA + MCU" heterogeneous collaborative architecture. With its unique parallel processing capability and nanosecond-level low-latency characteristics, FPGAs (such as the Altera Agilex series) are widely used in high-bandwidth multi-sensor fusion, hard real-time industrial bus protocol conversion, and complex motor control loops.

Meanwhile, the market demand for specialized PHY chips (Physical Layer chips) is also surging. Faced with the extremely limited space and heat dissipation challenges inside robot joints, leading vendors represented by Motorcomm and Renesas Electronics are accelerating the launch of Gigabit/2.5G Ethernet PHY chips customized for embodied AI.

These chips are reshaping the physical layer standard of robot internal communication by integrating TSN (Time-Sensitive Networking) clock synchronization features, ultra-low power consumption design, and Wafer-Level Chip Scale Packaging (WLCSP).

Trend 2: Penetration Rate of EtherCAT Solution for Internal Communication Protocol Will Increase Year by Year.

For a long time, robot internal communication has presented a "fragmented" situation where multiple protocols such as USB, CAN, and RS485 coexist. However, with more degrees of freedom of embodied AI agents (usually more than 40) and higher motion control accuracy requirements, the bottlenecks of traditional CAN bus in bandwidth and real-time performance have been fully exposed.

The research by ResearchInChina shows that Ethernet evolving towards automotive Ethernet, especially the EtherCAT protocol, is expected to become a better solution for internal communication integration. EtherCAT is developed by Germany's Beckhoff, and now there have been local companies such as Triductor Technology and HPMicro releasing robot-specific ESC chips authorized by Beckhoff for mass production.

Compared with the "store-and-forward" mechanism of traditional Ethernet, EtherCAT adopts a unique "Processing on the fly" technology. Data frames "fly through" each slave node like high-speed trains, and slave stations can instantly read commands and insert feedback data in nanoseconds without caching. This mechanism enables the EtherCAT system to maintain microsecond-level communication cycles and less than 1 microsecond jitter even when connecting dozens of joints.

In the bipedal walking and balance control of humanoid robots, microsecond-level synchronization of multiple joints is crucial. The Distributed Clocks (DC) technology of EtherCAT can ensure that the synchronization error of all axes is less than 100 nanoseconds, perfectly meeting the requirements for highly dynamic motion control. At present, leading manufacturers including AgiBot, Unitree Robotics, and UBTECH have widely deployed EtherCAT or customized Ethernet-based buses in their flagship products.

Trend 3: Reshaping of Network Topology Leads to A Transition from Distribution to Zonal Centralization.

With the surge in the number of sensors (such as tactile skin and multi-view vision), the traditional point-to-point wiring mode leads to bulky wiring harnesses inside robots, which not only increases weight but also reduces reliability.

Drawing on the evolution of intelligent vehicle E/E architecture, embodied AI robots are accelerating the transformation to "zonal architecture".

Models represented by Tesla Optimus Gen3 and Figure 03 may adopt a Zonal Control Unit (ZCU) design similar to that of automobiles. Sensors and actuators first connect to nearby ZCUs, and then link to the central computing unit via a high-speed Ethernet backbone network. According to measured data from the automotive industry, this design not only significantly reduces the length and weight of wiring harnesses (expected to reduce by 16%-30%) but also lowers assembly difficulty.

Under this trend, the importance of high-speed serial communication technology (SerDes) and TSN (Time-Sensitive Networking) is increasingly prominent. More forward-looking technologies such as the TS-PON all-fiber industrial optical bus proposed by Poncan Semiconductor utilize optical fibers featuring anti-interference, low latency (<10μs) and high bandwidth (above 10Gbps), allowing a single optical fiber to undertake all electrical bus services. It is expected to be put into pilot applications in high-end robot scenarios in the future.

Trend 4: In End Communication Integration, I3C Protocol Is Becoming the Key Technology to Solve Intra-Board Interconnection in Dexterous Hands.

Dexterous hand is the most complex end effector of an embodied AI robot, requiring the integration of dozens of sensors and motors in an extremely small space. Traditional CAN or UART interfaces require independent transceivers and crystal oscillators, occupying large PCB area and complicating wiring.

The I3C (Improved Inter Integrated Circuit) protocol is emerging as the key technology to solve the "last inch" communication problem of dexterous hands.

Compared with the traditional I2C, I3C supports a transmission rate of up to 12.5Mbps (push-pull mode), and In-Band Interrupt (IBI), allowing sensors to actively report emergency data (such as tactile mutations) without additional interrupt lines.

Dexterous hand solutions based on I3C launched by vendors such as NXP show that only two lines are needed to realize communication between the main controller and multiple finger joints. No external PHY chip is required when the main controller integrates an I3C controller, saving a lot of BOM costs and wiring space. Its characteristics of high integration, low power consumption, and hot-swappable support make it an ideal option for high-density tactile sensor arrays and micro-joint control.

Trend 5: For Software-Hardware Integrated "Data Bus", How DDS and ROS 2 Build a Decentralized Nerve Center?

In the era of software-defined robots, communication is not only the transmission of bits but also the distribution of data. ROS 2 and its underlying DDS (Data Distribution Service) as the default underlying communication middleware constitute the "intelligent center" of robots.

DDS adopts a "data-centric" publish-subscribe model, eliminating centralized message brokers and removing single point of failure risks. More importantly, DDS provides extremely rich QoS (Quality of Service) policies, such as reliability, durability, and deadline. This means developers can configure "high-reliability, low-latency" policies for joint control commands, and "best-effort" policies for video streams, thereby realizing efficient scheduling of heterogeneous data in the same network.

Unitree Robotics' G1 robot is a typical representative in this trend. Its internal DDS middleware realizes the decoupling and efficient coordination of motion control, perception, and decision modules, and is even compatible with computing power expansion of external PCs.

Trend 6: Synergy between 5G-A and NearLink Technology Supports Cloud-Edge-Terminal High-Bandwidth Real-Time Interaction for Robots.

Embodied AI agents not only need a robust "internal nervous system" but also an agile "external nervous system" to realize cloud-edge-terminal collaboration. Cellular networks (5G-A) and short-range communications (Wi-Fi/NearLink) will form a long-term complementary coexistence pattern rather than simple substitution.

With 10Gbps downlink rate, millisecond-level latency, and wide-area seamless roaming capability, 5G-A (5.5G) is a must-have option for robots to access the "cloud brain" in mobile scenarios such as outdoor inspections and industrial parks. The Kuavo robot case UBTECH cooperates with China Mobile proves that 5G-A can support high-precision collaboration of multi-robot groups and real-time ultra-high-definition video backhaul.

In the field of short-range communication, China's independently developed NearLink technology shows great potential to replace Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The NearLink SLB mode features microsecond-level air interface latency (20μs) and nanosecond-level synchronization accuracy, and supports concurrent connections of up to 4096 nodes. This enables NearLink to be competent for external communication, but also at the joint connections of non-metallic skins, it is even expected to try wirelessly replacing some signal cables to explore the solution to the sore point of mechanical wear. At present, among Chiense companies, Triductor Technology has launched NearLink products targeting embodied AI robots.

Table of Contents

1 Embodied AI Robot Communication Network Topology

2 Application of Communication in Various Scenarios of Embodied AI Robots

3 Communication Network Deployment Schemes of Major Embodied AI Robot Body Manufacturers

4 Chinese Communication Chip and Module Vendors

5 Foreign Communication Chip and Module Vendors

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