DC motors usually run at too high a speed and too low a torque. In order to use these motors for robotic application, these characteristics should be improved.

Gearboxes are used for this purpose. Connecting the shaft of a motor to a geartrain causes the output shaft from the geartrain to rotate much more slowly and to deliver significantly more torque than the input shaft. DC motors that have a gear box assembled to their shafts are called as gearhead DC motors, and these motor are most suitable motors for building many hobby robots.