Robot rings NASDAQ closing bell

Universal Robots' UR5 robot arm has been chosen as the first non-human to ever ring the NASDAQ closing bell to mark the launch of the ROBO-STOC Global Robotics and Automation Index.

By Universal Robots November 12, 2013

Universal Robots, a Danish industrial robot manufacturer, has been chosen by ROBO-STOX to represent the burgeoning robotics industry. On Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 4 p.m. EST, Universal Robots’ UR5 robot arm, equipped with a three-fingered gripper from SCHUNK, pressed the button activating NASDAQ’s closing bell. The bell ringing celebrated the launch of the ROBO-STOX Global Robotics and Automation Index ETF (Ticker Symbol: ROBO), the latest exchange-traded fund to begin trading through Exchange Traded Concepts’ accelerated, low-cost, private-label ETF platform. 

Co-founder of ROBO-STOX and publisher of The Robot Report, Frank Tobe, says the choice of Universal Robots as the “bell ringer” was due to its unique industry position:

“We didn’t want to showcase a robot only used in a research lab. We wanted to show viable robotics technology, well-positioned for a future IPO, that is selling and being implemented in a wide range of industries today.”

Ed Mullen, national sales manager with Universal Robots in North America, is delighted to have the UR5 robot arm be chosen to mark the launch of ROBO-STOX:

“Our collaborative robots have pioneered a new trend within automation, enabling employees to work directly alongside a portable robot that’s easy to program and doesn’t require safety fencing,” he says. "Your new colleague can be a robot that optimizes production and alleviates workers of monotonous tasks, often promoting them to higher skilled positions."

Universal Robots introduced itself to the North American market in September of 2012, implementing a high-tech distribution channel throughout USA and Canada. The Danish company has penetrated a wide variety of industries including automotive, machine tools, medical, packaging, assembly, pharmaceutical, and electronics.

Bringing robotics into multiple industries continues to accelerate the sector, says Rob Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of ROBO-STOX:

“The growing affordability of robotic productivity gains coupled with expanding technological capabilities have helped move the robotics sector beyond the ‘tipping point,’” said Wilson. “By introducing the first comprehensive and focused measure of the value of robotics, automation, and related technologies, we’re giving investors the world’s first benchmark by which to track the growing field of robotics.”

Universal Robots

www.universal-robots.com 

– Edited by CFE Media. See more Control Engineering robotics stories here.