A robotic system comprises a joint position controller and a manipulator having coupled together housings. The manipulator is adapted to hold and manipulate a device. Motors for actuating corresponding degrees of freedom of the device and sensor processing units for sensing and converting states of the motors into digitally transmittable information are housed in one or more of the housings. A remote current controller is housed in a different housing than the one or more housings for space and/or heat considerations. The remote current controller generates drive signals provided over individual signal lines to the motors by using motor commands provided by the joint position controller and by using the digitally transmittable information received from the sensor processing units.