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Smooth like honey.

Smart actuators for robotics and more.

First units coming early 2027.

HD 01

The HD 01 is a compact, backdrivable smart actuator for the mid-range joint.

Most joints in a robot or an automated machine fall between 5 and 30 Nm. The HD 01 is designed to support the mid-range.

Designed for domestic-content requirements.

  • 14–16 Nm peak
  • 4 Nm continuous
  • 24 V
  • CAN FD
  • Backdrivable
The HD 01 actuator, halftone printed: black cylindrical housing with a honey band, machined face plate forward.

WHY?

Every machine that moves is built from joints. Here’s why we make them in Detroit, and why it matters now.

Model Ts roll out under the Highland Park plant.

Applications

  • Robotics

    • Humanoids
    • Quadrupeds
    • Research platforms
    • Robot arms
  • Industrial automation

    • Light cobots
    • Carts
    • Gimbals
  • Medical devices

    • Exoskeletons
    • Rehabilitation
  • Logistics

    • Carts
    • Picking arms
  • Government projects

    • Ground robotics
    • Field equipment
  • Entertainment

    • Animatronics

Get your first units in early 2027.

The craft

  1. Control

    Motor-drive engineers designed the controller and firmware in-house. The board runs torque control from 12 to 48 V.

  2. Motion

    We match the gear ratio to the motor and choose gearing with low backlash. The HD 01 moves smoothly under load and turns freely by hand with the power off.

  3. Measurement

    Every HD 01 ships with full documentation and torque curves measured on our own bench.

The assembly

One housing, about 50 mm across, holds the motor, gearing, encoder and controller. There is nothing to add before it joins your machine.

Fig. 5Exploded view of the HD 01, drawn from the CAD assembly.

It mounts and talks like the class standard, so it drops into an existing joint without adapter work. Command it over CAN FD from any controller between 12 and 48 V, 24 V nominal. It backdrives smoothly when you turn it by hand, and every unit ships with its measured torque curve.

  • 24 V nominal
  • 12 to 48 V
  • CAN FD
  • 50 mm across
  • backdrivable

Specifications

HD 01 specifications. All values are design figures and testing is not complete.
ParameterValueSee the note below the table
Peak torque14 to 16 Nm
Continuous torque4 Nm
ReductionLow-backlash gearing
Supply voltage24 V nominal; the controller accepts 12 to 48 V
CommunicationCAN FD, 5 Mbps
BackdrivableYes
ConstructionMotor, gearing, encoder and controller in one housing
SizeAbout 50 mm across

Design figures. Testing not complete.

Honeydrive started when we needed the best mid-range actuators for our robots and could not get them in the United States. We spun the company out of YES! Inc. to build them here.

Our mission is preventing deceleration in robotics, domestic and global, by building its motion infrastructure in America. We do it by bringing the work of masters of craft back to American manufacturing.

The team behind it has designed motor drives and power electronics for electric vehicles, written motion-control software used on automotive production lines, built its own circuit-board assembly lines, spent years building national-security hardware at a federal laboratory, and engineered a 20-joint walking robot.

Fig. 7Sidekick prototype with 22 actuators per unit.

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