Abstract : The earliest robots did not possess the simplicity, safety, and flexibility of today's robots. It was only after a long history of development that the robotics industry has achieved its current flourishing state.
Following the success of the UR5 and UR10 robots, which achieved both industry and market success, Universal Robots recently launched the UR3 robot after three years of research and development. This new compact desktop robot weighs only 24.3 pounds but boasts a payload capacity of 6.6 pounds. All wrist joints can rotate 360 degrees, while the end effector can rotate infinitely. These unique features make the UR3 the most flexible and lightweight desktop robot on the market today, capable of working alongside human workers.
The long history of robot development
The origins of robots can be traced back to the ancient world. According to records, as early as the 3rd century BC, the ancient Greek philosopher Philo of Byzantium invented a water-powered machine, the waterwheel, laying the foundation for industrial civilization and the application of machinery. In 1921, Czech writer Karel Capeck first used the term "robot" in his science fiction novel *Universal Robot*, and it has been used ever since. With the rise of the Industrial Revolution, the modern concept of robots began to take shape. The Industrial Revolution enabled people to use complex machinery and subsequently invented electricity. This allowed people to power machines with small, compact motors.
The first use of modern robots was in factories with industrial robots, simple, stationary machines capable of performing manufacturing tasks without human assistance. Numerical control (NC) industrial robots and artificial intelligence (AI) robots have been built and produced since the 1960s. In 1954, American George Devol introduced the world's first digitally operated and programmable robot – Unimate – which was put into use at General Motors in 1960. By 1983, robotics had become a popular subject in both industrial production and academia, and began to be included in the curriculum. In 2009, Universal Robots developed the world's first truly collaborative robot, marking the beginning of a new chapter in the history of robotics development.
Today, robots are widely used in industries such as automotive, entertainment, healthcare, food processing, and logistics, and serve as multi-purpose tools in small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises to improve production quality and flexibility. In the future, the applications of robots will become even more diverse, eventually entering thousands of households and becoming "robot nannies" in the domestic service industry.
The Transformation of Robots' Role in Production
Historically, true robots emerged in the 1960s. The first generation of industrial robots suffered from large investments, long investment periods, and limited flexibility. Furthermore, factories needed to pay high labor costs to hire specialized technicians for on-site guidance, further increasing production costs. Due to technological immaturity and incomplete relevant laws, there were also issues such as inconsistent product quality and conflicts between labor supervision departments. Robotic arms also suffered from poor flexibility and complex design and installation. When outsourced to factories, they were prone to product knowledge loss and product duplication. Not to mention the high requirements for workspace and low return on investment.
Today, industries are undergoing development and change, and factories urgently need to shorten product production cycles and increase flexibility in the production process. The demand for robots has also changed: from super robots that focus on speed, precision, and load capacity to robots that are similar to human operation, providing assistance to humans in shared workspaces; from dangerous machines to collaborative robots; and from complex machines that only professionals can operate to tools that everyone can use.
The Industrial Revolution catalyzed the birth and development of robots. Human history has witnessed three Industrial Revolutions. The First Industrial Revolution occurred between 1750 and 1830. Its central theme was steam power, which improved factory efficiency, including textile mills, and spurred the development of railways and steamships. The Second Industrial Revolution occurred between 1870 and 1930. Its central theme was the industrial and civilian use of electricity, including the invention of electric lights, telephones, cameras, movies, elevators, electric motors, automobiles, airplanes, and air conditioning. The Third Industrial Revolution focused primarily on electronic data processing. It began with the advent of computers and was further developed with the emergence of the internet and email. The Fourth Industrial Revolution, also known as Industry 4.0, refers to technologies and value chain organization concepts—the Internet of Things (IoT)—smart factories, and other currently popular technological topics.
Several industrial revolutions have led to a production model in which machines have replaced many jobs previously performed by humans, reducing the need for human resources in the production process. Here, we mention...
The trends of the Fifth Industrial Revolution emphasize bringing people back into production and enabling them to collaborate with robots, while transforming engineers and marketers into new talents with creativity and customer knowledge. We hope to integrate human knowledge, creativity, and understanding of customers into products, allowing value to be transferred between people. Humans will always play a crucial role in this process. Furthermore, the Fifth Industrial Revolution will bring about changes in production: we will shift from a "blue-collar" to a "white-collar" production model; production will no longer be merely monotonous, mechanical operations, and products will be imbued with more emotion and passion.
A revolutionary new creation—UR3 robot
Since its founding in 2005, Universal Robots has been dedicated to developing widely applicable robotic technologies. The company's UR5 and UR10 robots can automate and streamline all industrial production processes, offering advantages such as cost-effectiveness, high flexibility, ease of use, and safety, making them highly popular in the industry. These 6-axis industrial robots are small, lightweight, and easy to use, offering significant advantages in terms of financial resources, human resources, and technology. For example, they are easy to program, quick to install, flexible to deploy, enable human-robot collaboration, are safe and reliable, and have the shortest return on investment period in the industry. Of particular note is the UR robot's powerful flexibility: it can be programmed on-site by employees and quickly reset to perform diverse tasks. Due to its lightweight design, the robot can move easily within the factory, breaking down workspace limitations.
After three years of research and development, the new, smaller UR3 robot has been launched, becoming the world's most flexible, lightweight, and collaborative desktop robot. The UR3 can precisely position, place, and assemble parts, handling small components with ease. It achieves consistently high product quality in assembly, polishing, gluing, and screw-tightening applications, making it the perfect assistant for workers. With the assistance of the UR3 robot, one employee can complete tasks that previously required two employees, becoming a "third hand" for workers. It is perfectly suited for applications with stringent space, safety, and cost requirements. Based on the following product features, the new UR3 robot will have a huge investment market:
● Unique force sensing
When UR3 comes into contact with employees, it automatically limits the force of the touch.
The default force sensing value is 150 Newtons, which can be adjusted to automatically stop working once a force as low as 50 Newtons is applied.
●Infinite rotation angle of the end joint
With optimized force control, the UR3 robot is a professional-grade craftsman.
Able to pick up screws, install screws, and tighten screws with the correct torque.
Apply equal amounts of glue precisely along a strictly defined path with continuous, constant pressure.
●0.1mm repeatability
It can perform precise operations by using "touch" to trace the contours of an object's surface—such as the edge of a smartphone's aluminum casing.
UniversalRobots is the culmination of years of in-depth research into robotics. The company's product portfolio includes the UR3, UR5, and UR10 collaborative robot arms, each named for its different payload capacity. Looking ahead, Universal Robots will strive to develop entirely new robot applications. We believe that rapid technological advancements and ever-evolving common sense will enable industrial automation to achieve even greater breakthroughs in the near future.
About the author
Mr. Espen H. Osterga is the Chief Technology Officer of Universal Robots, responsible for optimizing the company's existing UR robot products and developing new products. Mr. Osterga holds a PhD in Robotics and is one of the inventors of the UR robot. From 2001 to 2005, he served as a researcher and associate professor in Robotics and User Interfaces at the University of Southern Denmark and founded the Industrial Robotics Transformation Foundation. In 2005, Mr. Osterga co-founded Universal Robots with two other research partners. Currently, Universal Robots holds nearly 30 robot patents. In addition to his role as Chief Technology Officer, Mr. Osterga has participated in several national research projects and serves as an external examiner for several universities in Denmark. Early in his career, Mr. Osterga worked as a research scientist at the University of Southern California and a visiting researcher at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Tokyo, Japan. Mr. Osterga studied Computer Science, Physics, and Multimedia at Aarhus University in Denmark, which led him to focus on robotics research. Mr. Osterga is an avid robot soccer player and won the RoboSoccer World Cup in 1998.
