Taiwan’s Nexcom launches groundbreaking dual EtherCAT AI robot controller powered by Nvidia Jetson AGX Orin, aiming to capture Southeast Asia’s rapidly growing industrial automation market.
Taiwanese industrial computing specialist Nexcom has introduced what it claims to be the world’s first dual EtherCAT AI robot controller, combining real-time industrial communication with advanced AI processing through Nvidia’s Jetson AGX Orin platform. The solution targets Southeast Asia’s rapidly expanding automation market, where demand for smart manufacturing solutions is growing at 12.3% annually according to Mordor Intelligence.
Breakthrough in industrial robotics
Nexcom’s new NROK-2610 controller represents a significant advancement in industrial automation, combining two EtherCAT master ports with AI acceleration capabilities. According to the company’s press release, this dual-channel design allows simultaneous control of multiple robot arms or coordinated operation of different automation components with sub-millisecond synchronization.
The system leverages Nvidia’s Jetson AGX Orin, which recently demonstrated a 40% performance improvement in robotics benchmarks according to Nvidia’s developer blog. “This isn’t just about raw processing power,” explains Dr. Lin Wei-chung, Nexcom’s CTO. “The real innovation is in how we’ve integrated real-time industrial communication with AI decision-making at the edge.”
Southeast Asia’s automation gold rush
The launch comes as Southeast Asia experiences unprecedented growth in industrial automation adoption. Vietnam’s market grew 18% year-over-year in Q2 2023 according to the Vietnam Automation Association, while EtherCAT installations across ASEAN increased 22% this year per the EtherCAT Technology Group.
“What we’re seeing in Vietnam and Thailand particularly is a perfect storm of factors,” notes robotics analyst Michael Tan of Digitimes Research. “Electronics manufacturers are relocating production from China, labor costs are rising, and governments are offering incentives for smart factory adoption.”
Challenging Japanese dominance
Nexcom’s entry pits it against established Japanese players like Fanuc and Yaskawa, who control approximately 60% of the ASEAN industrial robot market. Fanuc responded to the competitive threat by launching its own EtherCAT controller in May 2023, as reported by Robotics Business Review.
However, Nexcom believes its focus on open standards and AI integration gives it an edge. “Traditional robot controllers were designed for repetitive tasks,” says Dr. Lin. “Ours enables adaptive behaviors – quality inspection that learns from defects, grippers that adjust to part variations, and predictive maintenance that reduces downtime.”
The company reports that Taiwan’s robotics exports to Southeast Asia grew 27% in the first half of 2023, according to TAIROA data, suggesting strong regional demand for cost-effective automation solutions.
