Cobots – Collaborative Robots

Collaborative robots or “Cobots”, are an emerging technology which are designed to be able to work with and amongst operators safely. Cobots achieve this by being force limited, meaning that the robot is unable to exert or receive a substantial amount of force without stopping. This reduces the need for guarding and makes safe automation possible with a smaller footprint.

Many Cobots are designed with direct human-robot collaboration in mind. These Cobots have key features that separate them from traditional industrial manipulators, such as accurate force detection on all joints, the ability to position the robot by hand, and intuitive and easy to use programming environments and methods. Human-robot collaboration can be used effectively to assist skilled work, increasing productivity, reducing risk of workplace injuries such as RSI, and improving production quality.