ROBOTICS
COLLABORATIVE
LEARNING
14 » JULY 2020 » WWW.MADEIN.IE
The emergence of collaborative robotics has revolutionised the
robotics market, increasing the presence of robots on the
shopfl oor – and the technology is developing fast.
There is nothing particularly
new about robotics in
industry. Robots have been
operating on shopfl oors
for decades now. What
is new, however, is the
ability of those robots to work alongside
and interact with human workers.
For many years, industrial robots
meant large-scale production robots
operating in isolation, safely caged off to
prevent any accidents. Today, however,
with advances in technology and the
ability to scale robotics down both in
terms of size and cost, it has become
common to see smaller robots forming an
inherent part of production lines.
The rise of these collaborative robots
(cobots) has been so rapid that it is
estimated that by 2025 cobots will
comprise 34% of total robot sales. Much of
this growth is anticipated to occur from
those SME companies who, operating in
High-Mix/Low-Volume (HMLV)
production environments, realise the
fl exibility and productivity-boosting
potential of collaborative robot technology.
Much of this potential lies in cobots’
ability to perform receptive, monotonous
or error-prone tasks - freeing-up time for
an operator to devote to more complex,
creative and value-adding tasks. According
to Peter McCullough, product manager at
Doosan Robotics: “Although cobots
operate at lower speeds and payloads than
industrial robots their (relative) low cost,
inherent safety and fl exibility, easy
integration and operation and
‘collaborative’ nature means (application
dependent of course) that they can deliver
signifi cant productivity improvements and
a fast return on investment…The
capability and acceptance of cobots is
clearly increasing, and as countries emerge
from coronavirus lockdowns and work
restrictions, it is likely that adoption and
use of the technology will grow
exponentially.”
Barry Weller, product manager at
Mitsubishi Electric, says: “Cobots are ideal
when machines need to handle and hold
parts while humans work on them. The
ergonomics of a cobot arm are very
diff erent to that of a human; reach and
repeatability are better, as is holding still
for long periods. In this situation it can
make a task far more comfortable for a
human to complete, using robot
assistance. This not only improves the
working environment but is also a benefi t
for quality and productivity.”
Widely acknowledged as the pioneer in
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