IN Brief:
- Astute and RLS will show magnetic encoder technology at Hardware Pioneers Max 2026.
- The AksIM-4 range targets compact, high-resolution position feedback in demanding motion systems.
- Magnetic sensing is gaining ground where dust, vibration, oil, moisture, or integration constraints limit optical encoders.
Astute Group and RLS will showcase magnetic encoder technologies at Hardware Pioneers Max 2026, focusing on position-feedback systems for robotics, medical technology, automation, autonomous vehicles, and demanding industrial motion platforms.
RLS, a European magnetic sensing specialist and associate company of Renishaw, develops rotary and linear encoders for applications where optical systems can be difficult to integrate or maintain. The companies will present the technology at ExCeL London from 10 to 11 June.
The highlighted range includes the AksIM-4 series, developed for integration-constrained robotics, automation, and autonomous systems. The AksIM-4 Dual Concentric encoder combines motor-side and reducer feedback in a single coplanar package, reducing component count, cabling complexity, and installation space while maintaining 20-bit high-resolution absolute feedback.
Astute and RLS will also show an AksIM-4 version using HIPERFACE DSL. The digital two-wire interface combines power and feedback communication in a single cable, helping to reduce cabling complexity and system cost while supporting high-resolution absolute position feedback for servo applications.
Magnetic encoder technology is suited to environments where dust, moisture, oil, shock, vibration, or tight mechanical packaging make optical encoders harder to apply. With no fragile glass disc or light source in the measurement path, magnetic feedback can be more tolerant of contamination, impact, and mechanical stress in industrial motion systems.
The same demand for compact, rugged sensing can be seen across human-machine interface and robotics development. MIPI’s Physical AI interface group is examining interface requirements for humanoid robotics, while Azoteq’s haptic ICs for sealed controls show how sensing and feedback are being adapted for more demanding mechanical and environmental conditions.
Robotic joint design gives a clear example of the pressure on feedback components. High-resolution position sensing has to fit within tight mechanical envelopes while leaving space for motors, reducers, brakes, torque sensing, thermal paths, harnessing, and structural elements. Off-axis and low-profile encoder designs can reduce joint size or allow cables and cooling lines to pass through the centre of the assembly.
Medical technology creates another set of constraints. Surgical tools, diagnostic platforms, rehabilitation systems, and laboratory automation require precise motion control, but they also demand reliability, cleanliness, compactness, and predictable service behaviour. Magnetic feedback can provide an alternative where optical assemblies are exposed to contamination risk or awkward maintenance conditions.
Encoder selection is becoming more strategic as motion systems move from isolated automation cells into mobile robots, collaborative systems, autonomous platforms, and compact medical equipment. Feedback devices must support control accuracy, mechanical robustness, simplified assembly, and long-term stability.
Astute and RLS are using Hardware Pioneers Max to bring that magnetic sensing capability into a wider design-engineering discussion, with position feedback treated as a core part of motion-system architecture rather than a late-stage component choice.
