"The market for cobots recently grew by 31 percent worldwide. Manufacturers are addressing new target groups and offering productivity gains in the context of labor shortages. Because they are easier to put into operation, they are driving the democratization of robotics.
A new cobot model came onto the market these days: The company Universal Robots, the top dog on the market, presented its latest product with a payload of 30 kilos in its portfolio for the first time. This means the manufacturer is on trend.
Compared to classic industrial robots, the small robots, some of which operate without a protective fence, are becoming increasingly popular and are being equipped for a wider range of tasks.
Recently, the purchase of the insolvent German cobot manufacturer Franka Emika by the Chinese company Agile Robots attracted a lot of attention in the industry. Overall, the market is rich in competitors, especially since practically all established robot manufacturers offer cobots.
While ten to 15 years ago the marketing statements were ahead of the actual market situation, cobots have now arrived on the market. Their share sold worldwide in 2022 was around ten percent of industrial robots or 55,000 units. This corresponds to growth of 31 percent compared to the previous year. In addition, continuous growth in this segment has been observed since 2017 (since the International Federation of Robotics began evaluating cobot sales).
Definition of a cobot
The term cobot is a colloquial portmanteau and is made up of “collaborative robot”, which means: a robot that works together with humans. However, the term is actually misleading. When it comes to the safe use of robots, all of them - cobots and classic industrial robots - have to go through the same risk assessment process in order to be operated in accordance with the rules. In essence, there are no collaborative robots, only collaborative applications. With the appropriate safety technology, this could also be implemented with a large industrial robot, provided it is still economically interesting.
Initially, robots that had the new safety functions listed in ISO 10218, such as safe monitoring of speed and position or force limitation, were initially referred to as cobots. Only a few robots with specially certified safety controls were able to do this. Almost all manufacturers have now incorporated these safety functions into their standard controls. So the functions can be used or not.
Cobots are usually modeled on the human arm in terms of construction and functionality, so they have a similar load capacity and reach (the fact that exceptions confirm the rule is demonstrated by the product mentioned at the beginning). For example, they can supplement a manual workstation. This makes them interesting for new tasks. In addition, cobots come with the promise of easier robot use and are therefore a central driver of the democratization of robotics. This means they reach the target group of medium-sized companies and those that produce in small batch sizes.
Cobots are driving the democratization of robotics
This target group needs robot systems that are easy to operate and designed for usability. This can include, for example, the fact that they can be programmed by hand. That's why many cobot manufacturers offer, in addition to the actual robot arm, a platform for software components, coordinated grippers or other peripheral devices from the ecosystem. All of this promises the integration of the robot system by the operator even without robotics expertise (and not by a specialized integrator, as was previously the case).
This also includes a changed approach to initiating cobot projects. Classic automation projects are usually developed using the VDI guideline 2221. The selection of the robot that is suitable for the task only takes place when the automation project has been fully developed. For applications with cobots, the sequence is often slightly different: a problem (a need for automation) is identified, then the cobot is purchased and only then is it seen how the application can be implemented with it and its peripherals such as the appropriate gripper. This is actually a paradigm shift that can currently be observed here.
There are no safe robots, only safe robot applications
As indicated above, safety measures are just as central to cobot operation as they are to any classic robot. Currently, the cost of risk assessment for cobots operating without a safety fence is approximately twice as long because there is still a lack of standardized measures. A lot of research work is already being done here. For example, we are developing the “Computer-Aided Risk Assessment” (CARA), which supports companies with the help of a partially automated risk assessment.
With ISO TS 15066, concrete force and pressure limits for collaborative operation were introduced for the first time in 2016. With the revision of the ISO 10218 standard, it has the character of a standard for the first time. In addition, many newly gained experiences from practical application flow into the document. The standard makes it clear: any robot, no matter how safe it may be, can become a risk due to a dangerous component (standard example: cobot should handle sharp knives) ("start with the part", proclaimed a robotics expert the necessary procedure for a risk assessment). So even with cobots there are only safe robot applications and not robots that are safe in themselves.
Cobots for welding
One application in which the right balance between cost-effectiveness (usually due to a suitable cycle time) and safety has already been found is cobot-based welding. The labor shortage is blatant, especially in small companies in this industry, and more automation is a must for many in order to maintain or even increase their productivity. Welding robots then often take over the simpler work, and the skilled workers can use their experience to take on the more complex and attractive tasks.
An important component for the success of the welding cobots: easy commissioning and operation. For example, together with our two industrial partners Trumpf and Lorch, we have developed a sensor add-on for welding cobots and have already brought it onto the market through licenses. The sensor add-on makes it possible to use welding cobots to easily program the weld seam. The cobot simply needs to be positioned at the start of the weld seam, then it follows the weld seam independently and automatically thanks to the upstream sensor. The software calculates the welding path as well as the torch orientation and position in real time during the process. The robot can start its task within a few seconds.
Overall, we can conclude: Cobots may soon be available to everyone, yes, but best with systematic planning and if the desired key performance indicators harmonize with the concrete, secure application implementation." [1]
1. Cobots bringen die Robotik auf die nächste Stufe. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (online) Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH. Dec 19, 2023. Von Werner Kraus
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