Definition of collaborative robots
Collaborative robots are robots that interact with or work safely near humans in shared spaces. They differ from traditional industrial robots, which are designed to work autonomously and safely by isolating themselves from human contact. The global industry association, the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), defines four types of collaborative manufacturing applications:
• Coexistence: Humans and robots can work side by side, but there is no shared workspace.
• Sequential collaboration: Humans and robots share all or part of the workspace, but cannot work on parts or machines simultaneously.
• Collaboration: Robots and humans work simultaneously on the same part or machine, and both are in motion.
• Responsive collaboration: Robots respond to workers' actions in real time.
In most industrial applications of collaborative robots today, collaborative robots and human workers share the same space but complete tasks independently or sequentially (coexistence or sequential collaboration).
Current state of competition in collaborative robots
Collaborative robots emerged in China in 2014, mainly driven by foreign manufacturers such as UR and Rethink. Domestic collaborative robot companies such as JAKA, AUBO, Yuejiang, Siasun, Daming, Han's Robotics, Elite Robotics, Maihe, and Rokae are also actively expanding into the collaborative robot market.
In recent years, the traditional "Big Four" industrial robot manufacturers have also begun to develop collaborative robots. However, compared with companies such as Universal Robots, JAKA, and AUBO, traditional industrial robot companies have made slower progress in the field of collaborative robots, and the market activity is not high. This market is still mainly dominated by newcomers such as Universal Robots, JAKA, and AUBO.
From 2014 to 2019, my country's sales of collaborative robots were 600, 1,100, 2,300, 4,216, 6,400, and 8,200 units, respectively. Sales in 2020 are projected to reach approximately 12,000 units; furthermore, sales of collaborative robots are expected to continue to improve from 2021 to 2023, with cumulative sales potentially exceeding 60,000 units.
8 Advantages of Collaborative Robots
1. Easy to program. Some new collaborative robots are designed to be user-friendly and easy to program, thus eliminating the need for engineers to implement them. Some even have manual guidance capabilities, allowing the collaborative robot to learn through examples and be guided to follow a series of actions required to complete its programmed tasks.
2. Quick installation. The longer it takes to set up automation, the more expensive the initial investment. Employee training, production downtime, and the high costs of hiring external service providers can extend the return on investment time. This can pose significant problems for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Collaborative robots are designed with this in mind, requiring out-of-the-box functionality. Pre-programmed software allows users to install the robot themselves, enabling setup in under 30 minutes. Furthermore, the flexibility resulting from this short setup time improves productivity and ROI.
3. Flexible Deployment. One of the main selling points of collaborative robots is their flexibility. Programming collaborative robots for new tasks is simple and requires no external service personnel. This introduces versatility into the production line, and collaborative robots can be easily set to perform a series of different tasks on the same day, or to be assigned specific work dates for certain tasks.
Collaborative robots can be easily integrated into agile systems because they allow users to quickly respond to design changes and reconfigure the robots accordingly. Collaborative robots on the market today can perform many roles, typically service or industrial. Service collaborative robots are used to provide information, transport goods, or provide security in public places. Industrial collaborative robots have a variety of applications, including but not limited to picking and placing, packaging and palletizing, assembly, machine maintenance, surface finishing, and quality testing and inspection.
4. Consistent Results. Robots never get tired, therefore their results are more consistent and accurate compared to humans performing the same work. This makes them particularly well-suited for monotonous tasks, as they can repeat simple actions without compromising quality. Once properly configured, collaborative robots can perform the same tasks with equal capabilities.
5. Improve productivity and optimize processes. As collaborative robots take over from human employees, who often struggle to maintain focus or consistent performance over extended periods, the robots' precision reduces the likelihood of malfunctions and product defects to near zero. Quickly changing the tasks performed by collaborative robots helps workers optimize production lines and cut costs while maintaining high standards of product quality.
6. Fast investment recovery period. Collaborative robots are less expensive than industrial robots, and the choice of application and duration of use determine how quickly they can recoup their investment. Due to their high flexibility, low price, and rapid return on investment, companies typically recover their costs within 3 to 4 months. This has led to significant business growth in regions such as China, Brazil, India, and Mexico, providing an effective solution for certain manufacturing enterprises.
7. Low overall operating cost. Collaborative robots are maintenance-free, consume only 150 watts of power, do not require safety fences, and do not require specialized robot programming and maintenance personnel, greatly reducing the cost of operation.
8. Collaboration and Safety. Collaborative robots ensure the highest level of safety. Globally, over 80% of collaborative robots operate alongside workers, eliminating the need for traditional barriers. Collaborative robots free workers from dirty, dangerous, tedious, and potentially harmful tasks.
Key technical specifications of collaborative robots
1. Payload
Payload refers to the weight that a robot can carry. All robots have a specified payload, which does not include the weight of the end effector (such as a gripper) or auxiliary tools in the calculation.
This means that the actual payload a robot can carry must be calculated by subtracting the weight of the robot's end effector (such as a gripper) from its nominal payload.
However, if we conduct an in-depth analysis of robot applications, taking into account the influence of actual application requirements (such as acceleration) and physical parameters (such as the coefficient of friction), it is necessary to appropriately reduce the maximum effective load that the robot can carry.
The effective payload of collaborative robots is generally less than 10 kg.
2. Weight
The weight of the robot itself determines whether it can be easily moved and its work position changed, or whether a forklift or AGV is needed to do so.
In some workshops, robots need to constantly change jobs to perform various production operations.
If the robot is too heavy, more manpower and time will be needed to move and fix it.
3. Repeatability
People often ask about the accuracy or precision of robot movements. But in the world of collaborative robots, this metric is actually not very meaningful.
In fact, what we need to know is repeatability.
Since collaborative robots are typically programmed and motion-planned through human teaching/manual guidance, the robot's ability to recreate and execute the exact same movements is more valuable than its ability to accurately locate a specific X, Y, Z coordinate point with millimeter-level precision.
Most collaborative robots list their maximum repeatability value in their specifications, so when we test and use the robots, we can usually get a smaller (i.e., better) repeatability value than their nominal value.
4. Safety
Because collaborative robots need to work closely with humans, safety is of paramount importance.
Although safety is a very complex issue, many robot manufacturers still assign appropriate safety levels to their robot products, and most of them obtain safety certifications issued by third-party organizations.
At the same time, there are many different variables in the "safety" certification of robots. The only thing we need to understand is that: a robot being certified as safe does not mean that the application of this robot is safe.
A complete risk assessment must be conducted in accordance with the procedures specified in ISO 10218 (or ISO/TS 15066) standards to determine the safety performance level of the equipment application system.
5. Ease of use
For collaborative robots, which frequently work alongside humans and switch between different tasks, the ease of programming and configuration directly determines their operational efficiency; however, this metric is difficult to quantify because it heavily relies on human operating and usage habits.
The same user interface or usage method may be easy for some people but difficult for others. Therefore, this metric will always have a certain degree of subjectivity.
6. Arm span
A robot's arm span refers to the maximum (far) distance that a robot's wrist can reach.
This distance is usually measured from the robot's base. There are also many different methods to measure a robot's arm span, but most of the time we choose to use the maximum distance that the robot's wrist can reach as a reference; typically, the arm span of a collaborative robot is comparable to the length of a human arm.
