Why Are Humanoids Different?
Humanoids are the most complex class of robots designed to move, see, and interact like humans. They combine:
- 20+ Degrees of Freedom (DoF) per hand
- Vision, touch and proprioception across the body
- Real-time AI decision loops for balance and coordination
Unlike industrial robots, humanoids must operate safely and autonomously in dynamic environments. This requires deterministic control, local intelligence and precise synchronization.
The Humanoid Hand: Deterministic, High-DoF Control
A humanoid hand can contain 20+ degrees of freedom, with two to four motors per finger, embedded torque and position sensing, and tactile feedback at the fingertips—all requiring tightly synchronized, real-time control. With PolarFire FPGAs, you can use features that include:
- 1 µs motor control loops with parallel BLDC FOC execution
- Simultaneous control of up to 40 motors
- TSN-synchronized coordination across joints and limbs
- Direct Ethernet integration to NVIDIA Holoscan for AI-driven adaptive grasp and motion control
PolarFire® FPGA Ethernet Sensor Bridge
The PolarFire Ethernet Sensor Bridge aggregates MIPI®, SPI, I2C, UART and GPIO into deterministic Ethernet streams for NVIDIA® Holoscan.
With NVIDIA Holoscan software libraries, hardware-accelerated I/O and ROS 2 integration, sensor data flows directly into AI pipelines with assured timing. Scalable from 10 Mbps to 100 Gbps and PHY-agnostic (BASE-T, optical, SPE, direct-attach), the fabric adapts to any limb or embodiment.
Other FPGA Solutions We Offer
FPGAs for Smart Robotics
FPGAs for Medical Imaging
