The wind is coming! What materials are embodied robots actually made of?

(Source: New Materials Study Society)

On April 2, Doen Co., Ltd. released an announcement in which it replied to an investor: the company’s elastomer R&D team has made important progress in multiple cutting-edge functional materials fields, and, focusing on directions such as ultra-soft artificial muscles TPE, artificial skin Si-TPV, and conductive, temperature-sensing, light-responsive color-changing TPE, the company has completed key technical breakthroughs. The related results will provide material support for flexible interaction and structural innovation in humanoid robots.

In fact, it’s not just Doen. Domestic and international material leaders are all currently focusing on the emerging track of embodied robotics:

Guangfa Technology is developing robot structures and flexible materials, with 500 tons/year of PEEK resin + 2000 tons/year of PEEK modified production capacity; InnoN Inc. plans thousand-ton-level PEEK capacity, focusing on lightweight applications for robots, and is working with Changhong High-Tech, a company in the thermoplastic elastomer segment, to push forward robot elastomer scenarios; Runyang Technology and Xiangyuan New Materials have implemented robot flexible encapsulation materials—Xiangyuan New Materials’ electronic skin materials have entered the customer sample submission and testing stage; Fleying New Materials won an order for 100k sets of tactile sensors; Dow, Covestro, and Evonik continue to advance the R&D of bioinspired skin and conductive elastomers; Nanshan Zhishang has built 3,600 tons/year of UHMWPE fiber capacity. Its products can be used for robot tendon-rope applications, and the company is jointly working on robot transmission materials; XPeng has built an in-house IRON robot equipped with e-skin bioinspired skin, integrating more than 3,000 tactile sensors.

Embodied robotics knowledge

Unlike traditional industrial robots, embodied robots refer to intelligent robots that have physical entities and can complete autonomous sensing, cognition, decision-making, and execution through direct interaction with the real world. They can move autonomously and operate flexibly in complex environments, and even achieve flexible interaction through “tactile sensation” and “muscles” like humans do. In short, it is to give AI a “body,” realizing a closed-loop capability of “brain thinking + body execution.”

So how do embodied robots “step by step” come out of the lab? Between 2022 and 2024, they were in the stage of laboratory prototype machines. Benchmark products such as Tesla Optimus and UBTECH Walker were unveiled, validating the feasibility of the technology. Then in 2025, leading companies began delivering in small batches, and the industry entered the stage of real-world implementation. Embodied robots officially entered the “first year of mass production.”

This year is considered an important turning point toward large-scale commercial use, and core technologies have seen multiple breakthroughs: the integrated drive/control module response time reaches 0.25ms; tactile sensors achieve blind operation; the weight of the entire machine is reduced to below 35kg; and endurance is improved by 40%, etc.

Progress in material application and substitution of key components

The embodied robotics track shows three distinctive features: diversified materials, technology integration, and scenario segmentation. The following is an introduction to the materials used for different key components on the robot body:

PEEK (density 1.3g/cm³, single-unit usage 1.2-2.5kg) is used for joints and transmission components, replacing steel and ordinary engineering plastics. The material substitution rate is about 30%-40% for high-end robot models and 20%-30% for mid- to low-end models;

TPE is used for artificial muscles, replacing traditional silicone and rubber. The replacement share in mid- to high-end models exceeds 55%;

SiTPV is adapted for artificial skin, replacing traditional silicone and ordinary TPU. In the bioinspired robot field, the replacement rate is about 25%-30%, and together they support flexible bioinspired functions.

Flexible conductive polymers (core components are PEDOT:PSS, polypyrrole, and polyaniline) are used for electronic skin tactile sensing, replacing traditional metal electrodes and conductive rubber. The replacement share in high-end models exceeds 70%, and the share is accelerated to 40% for mid- to low-end models;

LCP is heat-resistant and suitable for high-frequency transmission and insulating components, replacing traditional epoxy-type materials and POM. The replacement share in high-end models is about 30%-35%, and it continues to improve.

DEA (variable strain 300%, response time <10ms) is used for flexible actuation. It pilots replacing traditional motors and shape memory alloys, with application only piloted in high-end bioinspired robots. The replacement share is less than 5%;

Photo-curable 3D-printed elastomers (precision 50μm, curing time <10s) replace traditional injection-molded elastomer parts. The replacement share for R&D and small-batch production exceeds 55%.

To sum up, embodied robots reshape human-machine interaction with a “sensing-decision-execution” closed loop, showing multi-dimensional collaborative characteristics; new materials such as PEEK and TPE accelerate the replacement of traditional components to support flexible bioinspired functions. In addition, IDC calls it the core form of physical AI, and expects that by 2029 it will account for over 30% of the global robotics market. Meanwhile, the industry believes that 2026 will usher in an important period for large-scale commercial application.

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