Samsung, LG parts units race to secure ‘robot muscles’ that account for most build costs
As CES 2026 wrapped up last week with Hyundai Motor Group’s humanoid robot Atlas dominating attention on the show floor, Korea’s electronics and component makers are converging on actuators as the decisive gateway into humanoid commercialization.
Actuators, which function as a robot’s muscles and joints, are among the most complex and cost-intensive components in humanoid systems. Industry estimates suggest they account for as much as 60 to 70 percent of a robot’s total manufacturing cost, depending on configuration.
“A humanoid with a simple gripper can use around 50 actuators, while one with a 20-axis hand can require up to 90,” said Han Jae-kwon, associate professor of robotics at Hanyang University. “If actuator technology is not secured, commercialization of humanoids is close to impossible.”
At CES, LG Electronics presented the most defined actuator roadmap among Korea’s major suppliers. It unveiled its dedicated actuator brand LG Actuator Axium, describing it as a high-performance module integrating motor, driver and reducer. CEO Ryu Jae-cheol said development will be completed by the end of this year, with the product launching commercially in 2027. The initial application will begin with LG’s home robot platform CLOiD, followed by external supply to clients.
What sets LG’s pitch apart is its scale and production track record. The company already manufactures over 41 million motors annually for appliances like washers and air conditioners, and it’s now betting that this experience can carry over to robotics.
LG Innotek, an affiliate, is scaling up as a supplier of robot vision systems with mass production underway and early revenue in the "hundreds of billions of won" starting this year, according to CEO Moon Hyuk-soo at CES 2026. The company is delivering integrated sensing modules that combine cameras, LiDAR, radar and software. Moon also said LG Innotek is shifting from selling individual parts to offering full-stack solutions, reorganizing its business units and expanding into actuators, motors and tactile sensors.
LG Innotek has been working with Boston Dynamics on vision sensing for humanoids and has secured the American robotics company Figure AI as a customer.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics also made its intentions known in Las Vegas. CEO Chang Duck-hyun said the company is evaluating entry into the actuator market and is in discussions with global humanoid robot firms. In December, the company invested several million euros in Norway-based Alva Industries, a startup specializing in ultracompact electric motors using proprietary fiber-printing technology. The investment is aimed at enabling future development of actuators for dexterous humanoid hands, often considered "the most complex and precision-intensive subassembly," according to Chang.
Samsung Electronics, which is overseeing in-house humanoid platform development, has also confirmed its R&D efforts on multiple actuator types. Robotics lead Oh Jun-ho has previously stated the company is testing various humanoid form factors and is developing high-degree-of-freedom dexterous hands. While the company has not disclosed commercialization timelines, its work is expected to provide an internal use case that could support component-scale-up within the group.
CES 2026 delivered a visible reference point for Korea's robot supply chain. Hyundai Mobis announced that its actuators are installed in the next-generation Atlas humanoid robot from Boston Dynamics. As of Wednesday, Hyundai Mobis shares were trading at around 440,000 won, up more than 20 percent over the past month following the Atlas unveiling.
“In general, Korea’s strength in humanoids lies more in components than complete systems, which is where investor focus has shifted,” said Yang Seung-yoon, senior analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities. “What has been missing so far are high-profile international deployments. Seeing Korean parts used in Atlas during CES 2026 sends a clearer signal to the market."
mjh@heraldcorp.com
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