Collaborative robot benefits for end users

Collaborative robots are built to work alongside humans. Unlike industrial robots, which operate behind cages and a number of different types of safety equipment, collaborative robots work without any form of external safety equipment.

Featuring light weights, rounded edges, force sensing, vision systems, and simple programming, collaborative robots, from the physical structure all the way down to the programming that operates them, are designed much differently than industrial robots.

The market for collaborative robots is expected to reach a value of $7.5 billion by 2027 according to a report from Interact Analysis. This accounts for 29% of the entire industrial robots market. In 2018 alone, the market grew 60% over 2017 to $600 million.

Collaborative robots are growing fast. Some of the most prominent reasons for this growth include a shortage of qualified workers, increasing labor costs, higher product mixes with shorter cycle times, greater need for flexibility in automation, and stricter demands for faster ROI and productivity.

How collaborative robots benefit end users

One of the primary benefits of collaborative robots is their low cost deployment. Some collaborative robots can be programmed simply by guiding the robot arm by hand. This ease of use and low cost of integration make the benefits of robotic automation available to all manufacturers, even small businesses with lower production volumes and less capital for investment in automation.

On top of low cost deployment, collaborative robots are much safer than industrial robots, which minimizes productivity draining disruptions and increases employee satisfaction. Collaborative robots are also flexible, able to take on a variety of different tasks, which helps to accelerate the ROI of automation investment.

Collaborative robots offer many benefits for end users such as ease of use, flexibility, safety, and return of investment (ROI) make them appealing to many different manufacturers.

Many of the pressing problems manufacturers face on a daily basis can be solved by collaborative robots. As the technology improves and costs decrease, collaborative robots will continue to see rising adoption.

This article originally appeared on the Robotics Online Blog. Robotic Industries Association (RIA) is a part of the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), a CFE Media content partner. Edited by Chris Vavra, production editor, Control Engineering, CFE Media, cvavra@cfemedia.com.

Original content can be found at www.robotics.org.

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