Schaeffler and NVIDIA Collaborate to Accelerate Humanoid Robot Deployment Through AI-Powered Digital Twins

2026-10-21 | Fort Mill S.C.

• Collaboration integrates digital twins of Schaeffler’s advanced humanoid actuators with NVIDIA’s open-source simulation frameworks
• Digital twin technology designed to accelerate humanoid robot development, reduce physical testing requirements and enable faster deployment at scale
• Schaeffler’s intelligent actuator technology is a foundational component for the next generation of humanoid robotics

Schaeffler, the Motion Technology Company, today announced a collaboration with NVIDIA to advance the development of humanoid robots through AI-powered simulation and digital twin technology. Through this collaboration, Schaeffler will integrate its advanced actuator technology as the exclusive foundational component of “Newton,” an open-source physics engine for robot learning and simulation. Newton is part of NVIDIA’s open Isaac Lab and Isaac Sim simulation frameworks, enabling rapid development, testing and deployment of humanoid robots.

By accurately simulating the performance of actuators in a digital environment before physical deployment, the platform is designed to significantly accelerate the deployment process by reducing the time, cost and physical resources required to bring value-adding humanoids to market faster. This technology enables humanoid development companies to replicate simulated robotic performance across multiple humanoid robots and locations, reducing physical on-site testing and validation in many cases.

“Schaeffler and NVIDIA’s collaboration unites world-class AI simulation and digital twin capabilities with deep engineering expertise and manufacturing capabilities required to deliver advanced actuator technology at scale,” said Al Makke, head of humanoid robotics, Americas, Schaeffler. “Our goal is to help establish a digital twin platform that closes the Sim2Real gap for humanoid actuators while working closely with developers and users to continuously improve the technology based on real-world use cases.”

Actuator technology for humanoid robotics
A typical humanoid robot incorporates approximately 26 actuators throughout its body, excluding the hands. Schaeffler’s proprietary humanoid actuators integrate advanced mechanical, electrical and control technologies to enable the precise, coordinated movement required for real-world applications. Schaeffler's actuator technology is engineered to handle demanding environments, drawing on the company's expertise in motion technology, product development and high-volume manufacturing.

By integrating Schaeffler’s actuator technology with the Newton physics engine, developers can simulate, validate and optimize humanoid performance before physical deployment, thereby accelerating development and enabling more efficient production at scale. Schaeffler’s digital twin models each actuator with high fidelity while running fast enough to power large-scale simulation and machine-learning training, giving developers a physically trustworthy foundation for building robot behavior before it ever reaches hardware.

Toward zero-shot humanoid deployment
The long-term objective of the collaboration is to advance the concept of zero-shot deployment — a concept in which humanoid robots can immediately perform tasks in the physical world without requiring extensive physical training beforehand. By simulating a humanoid’s movements, interactions and performance in a digital environment, developers can potentially validate and optimize robotic behavior before deployment. As the technology continues to advance, this approach could enable humanoid robots to move from digital simulation to physical operation with significantly reduced on-site training and programming requirements.

The ability to simulate, validate and replicate humanoid performance also has the potential to accelerate adoption across manufacturing, logistics, automotive and other industrial applications, allowing developers to optimize a humanoid for specific tasks and then replicate that performance across additional robots and locations.

“Closing the sim-to-real gap is key to solving the data challenge of physical AI and accelerating the development of robotics applications,” said Amit Goel, head of robotics ecosystem at NVIDIA. “By bringing its actuator models into Newton, Schaeffler is enabling humanoid developers to design robots, train policies with reinforcement learning in Isaac Lab, and validate them in Isaac Sim at scale, all before deploying robots in the real world.”

Establishing a new standard for humanoid actuators
The collaboration represents a key step in Schaeffler's strategy to establish its actuator technology as a leading solution for the rapidly expanding humanoid robotics market. Schaeffler will continue working directly with humanoid robot developers and manufacturers to gather application feedback, advance actuator performance and support the development of scalable robotic platforms. With expertise spanning product development, engineering and high-volume manufacturing, Schaeffler is well positioned to support customers as humanoid robotics advances toward commercial deployment.

To learn more about Schaeffler’s humanoid actuators, visit
https://www.schaeffler.com/en/technology-innovation/technology/humanoid-robots/