The rise of the cobots

The cobots have well and truly arrived – and they’re here to stay. Industry Europe looks at how how they are helping to shape the future of industrial automation.

We’re all familiar with the sight of industrial robots on the shop floor: whether for pick-and-place purposes, assembly or product transfer, they are playing an increasingly important role in the modern workplace.

But what of the collaborative robot, or cobot? Unlike the traditional robot, which works apart from humans to carry out a specific pre-determined task autonomously, cobots are designed to work with human workers to provide support and help them complete a task (perhaps, for example, by holding something securely in place or passing a tool).

The International Federation of Robotics’ ‘World Robotics Report 2017’ forecast a growth in robot installations of about 15 per cent for 2018–2020, owing to factors such as stronger-than-expected growth in the global economy, more varied customer demand and the emergence of Industry 4.0. And it says ‘human-robot collaboration’ will have a large role to play in this.

According to IFR President Junji Tsuda, “Key trends such as digitalisation, simplification and human-robot collaboration will certainly shape the future and drive forward rapid development.” As an example, in the future cobots may help to support the growing trend towards flexible production of small quantities with high complexity.

A recent report by Interact Analysis, ‘Collaborative Robots – 2018’, found that while the cobot market is still relatively small compared to traditional robotics – it was worth less than $400m last year – the industry is set to grow rapidly in the next five years. Furthermore, the current European leaders in the field can expect to see increased competition from Chinese and Taiwanese suppliers.

Here we take a brief look at some of the biggest players in the European cobot industry today.

Smart partnership

At the end of 2017, Switzerland’s ABB, manufacturer of the ‘world’s first truly collaborative robot’, YuMI, announced it would be working with Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries to share knowledge and promote the benefits of cobots, particularly those with dual arm technologies.

Also in 2017, ABB teamed up with IBM to leverage its Watson data analytic software to improve cobot technology. The two companies will be jointly developing and selling new products to enable manufacturers to analyse data and optimise their processes to speed up operations.

Accoring to ABB Chief Executive Ulrich Spiesshofer: “This powerful combination marks truly the next level of industrial technology, moving beyond current connected systems that simply gather data, to industrial operations and machines that use data to sense, analyse, optimise and take actions that drive greater uptime, speed and yield for industrial customers.”

europe’s cobot pioneers

Elsewhere, Germany-based Festo is pioneering in the field of ‘bionic’ cobots. Its Bionic Learning Network (BLN) is an R&D effort to develop industrial robots drawing inspiration from nature. Through this, it has developed three cobot-related products. One of these, the ‘BionicCobot’, is inspired by the human

arm and its use of antagonist muscles (like biceps and triceps) to execute movements. Festo says it can work safely with humans as, in the event of a collision, it automatically eases off and can also be used within a protective cage for extra security.

The BionicCobot is operated intuitively by means of a graphic user interface developed in house. With a tablet, the user can quite easily teach the actions to be performed and order them in any sequence. By means of the ROS (Robot Operating System) open source platform, the programmed motion sequences reach the integrated Festo Motion Terminal, which steers and controls the kinematics. Cobots like this can be used for ‘monotonous’ or repetitive activities in order to relieve humans.

Elsewhere, Denmark-based Universal Robots manufactures a series of cobot arms – including the most recently introduced e-series – which are used for a number of applications including pick and place, injection moulding, quality inspection, assembly, packaging and palletising. Its products have been used, for example, by Nissan Motors in its Yokohama plant to offload certain repetitive or time-consuming tasks, and allow more time for activities.

Rethink moves to europe

A big story from the European cobot market from the past year concerned one of the most high-profile companies in the field, the US firm Rethink Robotics, producer of the highpeformance cobot ‘Sawyer’. The firm went out of business in October, but in November it was announced that it had been purchased by Hahn Group, the Germany-based robotics and automation group, with all patents and and trademarks including its Intera5 software platform for robot programming.

Thomas Hähn, CEO of Hahn Group, said: “The acquisition of Rethink Robotic’s technology marks an important milestone for the development of our portfolio of collaborative robotics solutions. This transaction will bring us not only a boost in innovative technologies but also access to highly specialised know-how in one of the most dynamic future markets. We are very pleased that we could convince the owners of Rethink Robotics to agree to the sale of its robotic technology around the ‘Cobot Sawyer’ as well as the Intera5 software.”

The company says that it intends to further develop Rethink Robotics’s technology, combining this technology with German engineering and know-how to enhance its industrial applications.

There is certainly still ongoing debate on the possible impact of AI on the workplace. There are many who would argue that AI poses more of a threat because robots and algorithms can be trained to carry out more intellectual tasks. Others argue that continuing technological advances will boost economic growth and ultimately create more jobs that it replaces.

Whichever side of the fence you stand on, it’s clear that the world of manufacturing is going to look very different in 20 years’ time, and cobots will almost certainly play a major role in that.