The Future of Motion Control Is Hybrid
Motion control has always evolved through innovation. From hydraulics and pneumatics to electromechanical drives, engineers continuously refine systems to push the boundaries of performance. But not every field advances at the same pace.
Hydraulics, for example, has stood the test of time as a discipline grounded in proven practices and reliability. If it works, though, why continue innovating?
Because innovation doesn’t always mean starting from scratch. Often, it’s about reimagining how we apply what already works. By building upon the unmatched power and durability of hydraulics with newer technologies such as electronics, today’s engineers are creating hybrid systems that are greater than the sum of their parts.
This marriage of legacy strength with modern intelligence delivers capabilities that neither technology can achieve alone. It signals a new era for fluid power and motion control—one where integration of new technology, not replacement, defines the future.
Hydraulics as a Foundation
Hydraulics remains the backbone of factory automation, heavy industrial and mobile/off-highway industries. The principle of using fluid to transmit and multiply force has been refined over generations to create systems capable of delivering significant power in compact, durable designs.
From steel mills and mining equipment to construction and agriculture, to manufacturing and metal working, hydraulics consistently provides force and reliability across dozens of industries—something that other technologies can’t match.
But proven reliability can come with limitations. Conventional hydraulic systems typically don’t have the fine precision and adaptability that most modern applications require. Plus, they can often consume more energy than necessary when operating continuously at full load. These limitations don’t devalue hydraulics, though; rather, they highlight the opportunities where electronics can play to its strengths.
Electronics: The Brain of Modern Systems
If hydraulics provides strength, then electronics brings intelligence. While the principles of fluid power have remained largely unchanged, advancements in electronics are ongoing and continuously redefining what’s possible in motion control. Where traditional hydraulic systems rely on fixed mechanical controls, electronics provide precision, adaptability and efficiency that hydraulics can’t deliver on its own.
For example, closed-loop feedback enables proportional and servo valves to respond in real time. Variable-speed pump drives turn fixed-output pumps into intelligent, demand-driven units. Sensors track pressure, flow, temperature and contamination and provide data users can act on immediately. Each of these capabilities are advantages of electronic controls.
Another significant aspect of electronics is connectivity. With communication protocols like Ethernet/IP, PROFINET and OPC UA, electronic controls can integrate into broader automation architectures, often seamlessly or with little adjustment.
For instance, HMIs translate complex system data into clear dashboards, which simplifies operation and reduces commissioning time. This communication results in faster cycle times, tighter tolerances, less wasted energy and, more importantly, the foundation for the next level of motion control.
Electrohydraulics: Where Strength Meets Intelligence
The step into the future is when hydraulics and electronics are combined to create systems that draw on the best of both technologies: hydraulic muscle enhanced by electronic intelligence.
Hybrid systems provide a host of advantages: dynamic performance that improves with faster response and more accurate control; simplified designs resulting from reduced wiring and component count; and decreased energy consumption due to load-sensing and optimized duty cycles.
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And this isn’t just a guess: Manufacturers are seeing this play out in real time today. For example, on an automotive press line, electrohydraulic actuators deliver the raw force that stamping requires, while electronics ensure precision and repeatability. The outcome is higher throughput, consistent quality and significant energy savings, sometimes in a more compact footprint.
Electrohydraulics is more than just two technologies functioning together, though, and hybridization is only the beginning. The real leap forward comes when artificial intelligence (AI) is layered onto these systems.
AIoT and Closed AI
Artificial intelligence combined with the Internet of Things (AIoT) gives electrohydraulic systems the ability to see beyond the present moment by drawing upon past data and predicting future data. By connecting sensors that measure pressure, flow, temperature and contamination, AI algorithms can process data in real time and spot emerging patterns, which allows for predictive maintenance as the AI can spot early warning signs for issues like cavitation, leakage or wear.
Building off that is adaptive performance, meaning systems can automatically adapt their functions based on load forecasts. Further, operators can compare this data across entire product lines or equipment fleets and create a feedback loop for continuous improvement.
While cloud connectivity enables insights for company-wide systems, not every application can afford to push critical data beyond the machines. In industries such as aerospace, defense and mining, real-time autonomy and security are crucial. This challenge is what introduced Closed AI; this type of edge-based AI model runs locally inside electronics—like controllers, valves, or drives—and enables millisecond-level decisions without latency.
Sensitive data never leaves the factory floor, and systems can continue operating in remote or offline environments. To illustrate, a hydraulic drive detects vibration anomalies, then adjusts valve parameters and finally alerts operators instantly.
Take the innovative electrohydraulic system and pair it with this up-and-coming AI technology: Manufacturers now have the dependable power of hydraulics; the precision and adaptability of electronics; the visibility and predictive insight of AIoT; and the secure, real-time autonomy from a Closed AI model. Together, they form a motion control ecosystem that’s not just more efficient but fundamentally smarter.
Remember the stamping plant utilizing electrohydraulics? If you were to integrate the entire technology stack into the press line, the process could look like this: The sensors and connected hydraulics equipment provide real-time feedback and data. That feedback can be sent via the Internet and fed into an AI model specializing in predictive maintenance.
Since the AI is already familiar with the components via digital twin technology, it can interpret the data and use it to run simulations by applying variable internal and external factors to identify scenarios where failures are likely. The AI can identify failure risks in the data and system conditions and communicate predictions of irregular wear or potential component failure to the press line owners well in advance of failure. This allows maintenance ample time to purchase the replacement parts needed and schedule the press downtime, thereby reducing costs associated with unplanned outages.
Another benefit of AIoT and connected hydraulics is the ability to set parameters when replacing components. Since the AI understands the component, thanks to its digital twin, it can recall where it performed best and adjust the settings and parameters of the component to maximize efficiency, keeping it within acceptable limits and avoiding compromise to the component’s lifespan.
This entire technology stack enables machines to do more than operate. They learn, adapt and collaborate.
A Multiphase Approach to Integration
The business case for hybrid systems is straightforward: fewer breakdowns, lower energy costs and longer machine lifespans. But no manufacturer makes this leap overnight, and overhauling all systems with advanced AI technology isn’t practical. Success comes from a phased approach that builds confidence, knowledge and value with each new integration.
For many companies, the first step is to lay the groundwork. Retrofitting machines with sensors, programmable proportional valves and digital pump controls enables data to be displayed on dashboards and other condition monitoring devices, providing operators with a clear view of system performance.
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Only after these foundations are proven do manufacturers typically begin to move toward autonomy, leveraging AI models for real-time decision-making and incorporating digital twins to virtually simulate and optimize performance.
It’s crucial for manufacturers to approach integration of advanced electrohydraulics in stages, as not every approach will deliver success. For example, collecting massive amounts of machine data without turning it into actionable insights leads nowhere, and adding sensors and electronics without integration may create complexity rather than clarity.
Likewise, quickly adopting complex technologies before addressing the fundamentals of predictive maintenance can waste resources. These pitfalls hinder manufacturers from truly benefiting from electrohydraulics, but there are concepts to keep in mind to ensure successful integration.
Standardizing on open communication protocols like Ethernet/IP, PROFINET and OPC UA prevents vendor lock-in and ensures scalability, while prioritizing incremental intelligence allows organizations to build steadily from monitoring to prediction to autonomy. And, to emphasize sustainability, hybrid machines should not only be efficient, but also environmentally responsible by reducing fluid loss and aligning with greener practices.
Perhaps most important, though, is keeping humans at the center with HMI and dashboards designed to guide operators with clear recommendations rather than overwhelming them with raw data.
Adoption of electrohydraulics and its advanced controls requires steady, scalable progress that strengthens machines, operators and organizations. It is this approach that positions manufacturers on the leading edge of the future of motion control.
Looking Ahead
The evolution of motion control is defined not by reinventing what we know works, but by integrating new technology to unlock possibilities manufacturers could only dream of several years ago. Hydraulics will continue serving as the backbone of industries that demand power and reliability, but what changes is how that foundation is paired with technologies that bring intelligence, adaptability and efficiency into the equation.
Electronics, AIoT and edge-based autonomy are not just concepts, but tools that manufacturers can phase in today to reduce downtime, optimize performance and extend machine life well into the future.
The companies that move now, adopting incrementally and strategically, won’t just benefit from stronger machines. They’ll set the pace for the next generation of motion control. The future is hybrid, and it’s already here.