CubeMars

Actuators for quadrupeds, exoskeletons and prototypes

CubeMars is a brand of the Sanrui Intelligent group which, according to its own website, has 17 years of motor-making experience, manufactures its products entirely in-house and cites annual output of around 6 million units. It also mentions more than 100,000 planetary joint modules a year in 2025. These figures are not independently verified; we treat them as the manufacturer's claims. The company sells components, not robots.

Product families

Best known is the AK series: actuators made of a brushless outrunner motor, a planetary gearbox, an encoder and a driver. The catalog includes AK10-9, AK40-10, AK45-36, AK70-9 and AK80-9, among others. Alongside are hollow-shaft versions (AKH), the AKA series, AKE quasi-direct-drive units, RI and RO frameless torque motors, gimbal motors and underwater thrusters.

For the AK80-9 V3.0, retailers list a 9:1 ratio, 9 N·m rated torque, 22 N·m peak torque and 490 g mass at 48 V. The documentation shows that the AK-3.0 generation has a product manual at version 3.2.0 and the older AK-2.0 a separate driver manual. The AK54-4810, AK60-4820 and AK80-4830 models come with 1C-A2 and 1C-A4 drivers communicating over CAN, with a servo mode and an MIT mode. Specifications of this kind are read by the rules in “How to Read a Robot Datasheet”.

Why it matters for robots

Quasi-direct drive, in which the gearbox has a low ratio, gives compliant, easily backdriven joints, which helps walking and contact with the ground. The principle and trade-offs are described in “Actuators in Humanoid Robots”. That is why such actuators suit the legs of quadruped robots, prototype humanoid robots and exoskeletons. Among the manufacturer's materials are two user reports: one on an exoskeleton with CubeMars AK motors and one on the steering system of a student-built FSAE vehicle. They show the real niche: academic projects and small teams.

Finished quadruped robots such as the Unitree Go2 have their own in-house drives — we found no confirmation in the sources that they use CubeMars, so we do not claim it. The same competitive tier is occupied by MyActuator, SteadyWin and ODrive Robotics, and the more expensive, more industrial pole is Harmonic Drive.

Cost and the market in Poland

We give no prices, because they vary between shops. What can be said is that spending on actuators is usually the largest item in building a robot, as “Humanoid Robot TCO: How to Calculate Total Cost” breaks down. The natural setting is universities, laboratories and student clubs — see “How to Start Learning Robotics in Poland”.