Collaborative robots, otherwise called cobots, are designed to help humans with different hazardous tasks. The essential concept of this robotic system is to work safely along with individuals in the same space, where the diverse strengths of both individuals and robots can be used proficiently.
These robots are significantly affordable and can function under any harsh conditions. It simplifies the working procedure in a brief timeframe, finalizing it accurately and perfectly than humans.
Lately, the use of such robot has expanded significantly, determined by increasing need for automation, rising labour cost, and increasing robot capabilities. The capacity to perform tough and tedious jobs for longer periods has expanded the acceptance of collaborative robots in different industrial sectors.
For example, heavy industries making use of high temperature and chemicals in the processes can create serious risks for humans. At such circumstances, co-bots can be a helpful solution as it works under any hard condition without safety worries with decreased risk of individual employee health. Below are the top five benefits of collaborative robots:
(1) INCREASED RETURN ON INVESTMENT: With the present collaborative technology, a substantial number of applications see returns within a year when they invest in co-bots, human support, and training. Since these robots can be co-located to work directly next to their human counterpart,
there are lesser barriers to work around and less lost time. Considering collaborative robots, it adds up by increasing productivity and decreasing labour costs likewise implementing energizing and cutting-edge technology, which is very attractive to many clients.
(2) IMPROVED INDIVIDUAL & ROBOT COHERENCE: This is the major advantage of working with co-bots. After installing the co-bots, the human worker puts the required devices and items unto a conveyor belt, turntable or fixture. The co-bots are customized to distinguish the tools or items. Once the human worker leaves the workspace, the co-bots begin work. Where the collaborative robots stand out is their capacity to reduce the cost of production, time and the floor space occupied.
The human worker is committed to feeding the co-bots and doesn’t leave the workstation. MIT researchers carried out research and depicted that collaborative robots working alongside people were more effective than when working alone or individuals working alone. They further concluded that idle time is decreased up to 85% when incorporating co-bots in manufacturing.
(3) SAFELY HANDLE DANGEROUS AND COMPLEX TASKS: In any situation, safety is considered first. Collaborative robots cannot only work alongside humans but can also achieve tasks that can create great danger or threat to human life. Taking a look at the case of medical surgery robots, the co-bots guarantee safety by steadying the motion of surgical items and making precision cuts.
This helps in reducing possible mistakes. In manufacturing industries, a few procedures include large heat amounts, heavy parts or tools, harmful chemicals, and sharp edges. These kind of procedures are complex to the human worker but can be achieved perfectly and safely with co-bots.
(4) FAST INTEGRATION AND EASY PROGRAMMING: Since there are no guarding or other complex gadgets to install, a collaborative robot can be installed in the industry work floor within 24hours or less. Also, the programming and integration are high-speed and easy which makes the entire set up extremely simple. First of all, you need to show the robots some points to make it perform smoothly. However, to learn more, simply visit https://www.universal-robots.com/products/collaborative-robots-cobots-benefits/
(5) GREATER FLEXIBILITY: Modern collaborative robots are made to work without their traditional cage exteriors which are meant to be a protective measure for people. Without these cage exteriors, more working space is freed, and the co-bot arm would be able to move freely.
Majority of these co-bots have a 6 or 7-axis arm, which would likewise enable them to execute a large number of applications in a very wide range of orientations and positions. The robot is also said to be flexible if it can be moved to another application effortlessly. Some extremely rigid robotic cells are devoted to a given task or production and cannot be moved or adjusted. This is not the situation with collaborative robots as they can be set up fast on another application and keeps on working non-stop.