Archimedes Drive: Driving Innovation in the Robotics Industry

Project Information

Archimedes Drive

Grant agreement ID: 190167072

DOI

10.3030/190167072

Project closed

EC signature date 24 February 2023

Start date 1 December 2022

End date 31 May 2025

Funded under

• The European Innovation Council (EIC)

Total cost

€ 3 516 508,75

EU contribution

€ 2 461 556,00

Coordinated by

IMSYSTEMS HOLDING B.V.
Netherlands

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - Archimedes Drive (Archimedes Drive: Driving Innovation in the Robotics Industry)

Reporting period: 2023-12-01 to 2025-05-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

IMSystems has developed the Archimedes Drive (AD) – a patented, next-generation transmission technology that replaces traditional gear-based speed reducers with a smooth, rolling-contact mechanism. This approach eliminates gear backlash and friction losses, enabling high-precision, efficient, and quiet actuation across robotics and human-interactive systems.
The project was conceived to address two long-standing challenges in robotics and motion control:
1. Technical limitations of existing strain-wave and planetary drives – backlash, low efficiency, and low stiffness – that constrain robot performance and energy efficiency.
2. Strategic dependency on a small number of non-European suppliers of high-precision drives, which exposes European robotics and automation industries to supply chain and geopolitical risks.

During the EIC project, IMSystems has proven the Archimedes Drive architecture from laboratory prototypes to integrated, manufacturable actuators (TRL 8) through collaboration with leading OEMs in robotics and prosthetics. The company’s original focus was the industrial-robotics market, but growing customer demand has shown strong near-term opportunities in emerging, high-value niches such as pick-and-place automation, humanoid robotics, and powered prosthetics.
These markets offer faster adoption cycles and positive early cash flow, providing the commercial bridge toward large-scale industrial deployment.

The project’s pathway to impact therefore combines:
- Short-term, market-pull exploitation of early-adopter segments requiring compact, silent, and efficient actuators (medical, precision assembly, collaborative robots).
- Long-term strategic contribution to European technological sovereignty in advanced actuation, supporting competitiveness in automation, humanoids, and assistive robotics.

By enabling higher productivity, lower energy use, and new human-safe robotic applications, the Archimedes Drive contributes directly to EU priorities for sustainable re-industrialization, digital transformation, and resilient supply chains.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the project, IMSystems advanced the Archimedes Drive (AD) from prototype to a validated, production-ready transmission technology capable of meeting the stringent performance requirements of modern robotics.

Technical development:
The AD now demonstrates high torque density, long lifetime, and full 360° rotation through its patented rolling-contact architecture. Significant improvements were achieved in the following areas:
- Lifetime and durability: validated through multi-million-cycle fatigue testing (>20 million cycles) and FEM-based life prediction models correlating with experimental data.
- Torque efficiency and stiffness: optimized internal geometry and bearing configuration resulted in torque density improvements of 200% and stiffness gains of >15 % over the previous generation.
- Noise and vibration: dynamic tests confirmed acoustic emissions below 50 dB in robot duty cycles, a >30× reduction compared to comparable harmonic drives.
- Integrated design: successful integration of motor and inductive sensor packages enabled a compact, sealed actuator architecture suitable for both industrial and prosthetic applications.
- Digital toolchain: the OmniArch and NumCon simulation suites were extended to include lifetime, friction, and thermal models, allowing predictive optimization of future variants.
- Industrial readiness: design-for-manufacturing (DFM) and assembly (DFA) activities with Linamar reduced component cost by ~80 % and established a pilot manufacturing plan

Testing and validation:
Comprehensive validation was performed across application domains. In industrial pick-and-place robots (Codian, Autonox), the AD achieved ±5 µm positional repeatability and matched or exceeded the dynamic performance of strain-wave drives. In the Össur prosthetic leg program, the integrated DFG-88 actuator demonstrated smooth backdrivability, lower mass, and improved torque transparency, confirming its suitability for human-interactive motion systems.

Outcomes:
The project concluded with three relevant drive variants (DFD, DFE, DFG) reaching TRL 8 – system complete and qualified.
These results provide the technical foundation for scale-up and full commercialization, establishing Europe’s first high-performance, non-geared precision transmission platform for robotics and assistive devices.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The EIC-funded project has enabled IMSystems to bring the Archimedes Drive from an advanced prototype to a fully validated, manufacturable transmission technology with proven advantages in efficiency, torque density, and lifetime. The results position the company at the forefront of precision actuation, providing a European alternative to established gear-based reducers.

The project’s key technical outcomes include validated digital design tools (OmniArch, NumCon), a complete set of integrated drive variants (DFD, DFE, DFG), successful pilot test programs, and pilot-level manufacturing readiness through collaboration with Linamar. These advances have led to confirmed interest and Letters of Intent from major OEMs in robotics and prosthetics.

The potential impact of the project lies in its ability to enable new generations of efficient, quiet, and backdrivable robotic systems, ranging from industrial automation to humanoids and assistive devices. This supports Europe’s broader goals in sustainable re-industrialisation and supply-chain resilience.

To ensure successful market uptake and long-term impact, IMSystems will focus on:
- Continued testing and certification to verify lifetime validation under field conditions
- Scale-up of manufacturing through Linamar’s pilot line planning
- Commercial expansion and financing to serve early OEM partners and secure follow-on investment for global distribution.
- IPR and standardization activities to protect proprietary architectures and support future integration under ISO/IEC robotic standards.

With these steps, the Archimedes Drive platform is ready for commercial deployment and broader market adoption, establishing a scalable European supply chain for next-generation precision actuators.

DFD drive render open

Drive prototype DFY4

Trade show robot demo

Drive prototype DFY2

Trade show small robot arm demo

Trade show DFD demo

Delta complete robot small

DFD drive render closed

Drive prototype DFY1

Drive prototype DFY3

Trade show