What’s New in Collaborative Robotics?

Collaborative robotics is rapidly gaining popularity in a wide variety of industrial applications.

As collaborative robots quickly evolve, they are becoming more and more useful across the industrial sector. There are a few factors driving this change, but first it’s helpful to briefly define the parameters of collaborative robots.

What are Collaborative Robots?

Simply put, collaborative robots are robotic systems designed to work in tandem with human workers. That being said, above all, they are designed for safety.

Collaborative robots are typically best for low skill, low speed, and routine applications involving light parts. They are not suited for heavy-duty applications such as welding.

Major Trends in Collaborative Robotics

There are many reasons why collaborative robots are gaining popularity, but there are a few key features that make them so valuable now, and even more so in the future.

Made for Safety
As mentioned, because these robots are meant to work alongside humans, they are carefully built to be as safe as possible. They never contain sharp edges, move at slow speeds, and most models contain sensors in the event that a human bumps into a robot, it will stop its moving parts immediately.

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Improved safety means more satisfied workers, but also, higher productivity due to less down time.

Easy to Use
Collaborative robots are versatile and easy to use. You don’t need to be a programmer to create rules for the simple tasks these robots complete. This means that implementation is fast, and also, collaborative robots can complete different tasks in the same day, since their usual tasks are so simple.

Being able to quickly implement these robots means quicker ROI for manufacturers.

Price Points
Collaborative robots are typically much cheaper than their heavy-duty counterparts. One of the most common barriers to implementation of automation is the cost of initial investment. Collaborative robots help ease that pain point, and help provide quicker ROI.

Collaborative robots are becoming more commonplace and more effective at what they do. This is driving higher the rate of adoption and innovation.