A look at some of the new cobots released this year and the trend toward larger, higher-payload cobots.
According to Stanford University’s Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2023, in 2017, only 2.8% of all newly installed industrial robots were collaborative. By 2021, that number had increased to 7.5%. The global trend toward robots working with humans to support a range of more flexible applications continues to fuel the impressive growth of the cobot industry as part of the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry.
Part of this growth can be attributed to ongoing workforce challenges in the North American manufacturing industries. The 2024 Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute Talent Study reported that attracting and retaining talent has remained a primary business challenge for manufacturers since before the pandemic, including in skilled positions.
- While traditional industrial robots require complex installation and dedicated, restricted cells separated from workers, cobots offer many flexibility benefits that make them more attractive to manufacturing leaders looking to make smaller, more manageable investments in automation. Some flexibility features of cobots include:
User-friendly, no-code programming and control interfaces - Built-in safety features that allow humans to work inside the robot envelope during operation
- Designed to be redeployable, such as being mounted on a cart and moved to different task areas
- Built-in force sensing, making certain tasks simpler without the need to configure third-party sensors
- As cobots typically don’t replace workers, cobots can have a positive effect on employees’ perception of automation and the changes automation may bring in the workplace
With so many benefits for flexible, bite-sized automation, cobots can be an ideal entry point to the world of automation for manufacturers addressing skills gap challenges, or a solution for highly automated, smart factories looking for the next value add in niche applications such as screw assembly or buffing and grinding.
Latest cobot product announcements
Schneider Electric Lexium
Image: Schneider Electric
Unveiled in April 2024 at MODEX, the two new Lexium cobots offer payloads of 3 to 18 kg, with positioning accuracy of +/- 0.02 mm (+/- 0.00079 in.) and operating radius up to 1073mm. The robots use Schneider’s EcoStruxure architecture, which connects smart devices, controls, software and services for collaborative data flow and shop-floor to top-floor machine control.
Doosan Robotics Prime-Series Cobots
Image: Doosan Robotics
The Doosan P-Series is, according to the company, the longest-reaching cobot available, with a reach of 2030mm. The P-series has a payload of 30 kg and is primarily designed for palletizing applications. Features of the P-Series cobot include lower power consumption compared to similar payload cobots by applying its built-in gravity compensation mechanism, inherent wrist-singularity free, and a 5 degree-of-freedom movement with the 4th axis removed and 6th axis speed increased to 360 degrees/second. The P-Series also includes PL (e) and Cat 4 safety ratings.
Kawasaki Robotics CL Series Cobots
Image: Kawasaki Robotics
Kawasaki Robotics’ CL Series are powered with NEURA Robotics’ robot assistance technology and feature speed of 200°/s and repeatability of ± 0.02 mm with payloads and reaches of 3kg/590mm, 5kg/800mm, 8kg/1300mm, and 10 kg/1000mm. They offer free mounting orientations, extremely small footprints and IP66 classification. Applications for the CL Series robots include finishing, parcel sorting and palletizing/depalletizing.
FANUC CRX-10ia/L Paint
Image: Fanuc
The latest addition to FANUC’s CRX line of cobots, the 10ia/L, has a payload of 10kg, reach of 1418mm and is the first collaborative paint robot to comply with explosion-proof safety standards (including IECEx, ATEX, U.S., Canada, Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan and Brazil). Meant for high-mix, low volume paint applications, even for operators with little to no robotics experience. Its “easy-teach” features including drag-and-drop programming and lead-to-teach (which may be considered a standard feature on most cobots.) In addition to painting, the robot can also be deployed for powder and liquid coating applications.
Universal Robots UR30
Image: Universal Robots
Universal Robots developed the very first collaborative robot and continues to expand its product line with the UR30, offering a 30 kg payload and 1300mm reach. According to the company, the design of the UR30 is smaller and more compact than comparable cobots, because of the importance of flexibility in collaborative robot applications. The UR30 is part of the company’s growing portfolio of products, joining the UR3e, UR5e, UR10e, UR16 and UR20
Techman Robot TM30
Image: Techman Robot
Techman Robot’s TM30 has a payload of 35 kg and reach of 1702mm. With this high reach-to-weight ratio, the TM30 is ideal for palletizing applications. According to the announcement, an ideal application is the semiconductor backend process, which includes significant manual labor for lifting and loading wafer boxes up to 35 kg. Techman robots integrate proprietary AI Vision technology, providing a series of add-on software tools for safety, incoming part positioning, barcode reading, dimension measurement and visual inspection.
Delta D-Bot Series
Image: Delta
At Hanover Messe 2024, Delta, a leader in power management and a provider of IoT-based smart green solutions, announced a new line of six collaborative robots, with payloads ranging from 6 to 30 kg and reach ranging from 800 to 1800mm. These six-axis robots offer speeds up to 200 degrees per second and accuracy within ±0.02mm. The robots offer “plug-and play” installation and a user-friendly interface designed for non-technical personnel. Applications include palletizing, pick-and-place and welding.
What’s Next for Cobots?
Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS), which mimics the popular subscription model transforming the software and cloud service industries, should continue to grow as more small companies dive into automation. Another key technology poised to deeply impact industrial robotics is AI prompt engineering. As robot control software continues to trend away from code and toward user-friendly interfaces, the idea of prompting an AI to teach or program the robot to perform an operation is not far off.
No matter what the future holds, collaborative robots remain a solution for manufacturers looking to automate dull, dirty and dangerous tasks, without taking on a large traditional robotic automation project.
