Growth of Collaborative Robots in Industrial 4.0
Published on : Sunday 05-07-2020
Applications of collaborative robots in industry 4.0 are creating opportunities and driving the standards of automation in the global market. The incorporation of cobots also strengthens safety features such as collision detection, operational errors, and force feedback. It works against the traditional concept of human counterparts. The collaborative robots are also abbreviated as cobots on the operational floor of the manufacturing plants.
The scope of cobots in the advanced industry 4.0 or smart manufacturing
In the current situation, the manufacturing industries are expanding and creating a revolution through heavy investment in research and development of technologies such as automation, real-time data, interconnectivity, and machine-learning to further strengthen the capability of industrial 4.0. The cobots devices in the market are fully based on autonomous technology and able to join hands with the industrial internet of things (IIoT) in any factory environment and are interoperable. Moreover, they are focuses to collaborate with humans and also equipped with powerful onboard computers to enables the process and collection of data on a real-time principle. This also promotes information transparency for modeling, and analysis to enhance the overall system performance to execute efficient machine operations. In industry 4.0, the system is designed to conduct a task based on safety features along with the safety of human co-workers.
Considering the current implementation of cobots is primarily as an autonomous entity to auto-correct the factory operation decisions or facilitate decentralized decisions. Moreover, the increase in the need to adopt digital-based products to enhance factory operations through continuous software updates. Cobots are primarily installed in the factory owing to the increase in demand for automation from the end-use companies in the retail, automotive, aerospace, and electronics industry. It also assists the companies who primarily have limited capital costs to purchase or invest in industrial robots, as cobots are less costly and co-working with humans to enhance better operational productivity. In addition, robots are easy to program, lightweight, affordable, small, and versatile. Such factors are enhancing their demand and sales in the global market in the coming years.
“According to BCG, a global management consulting firm estimated that the investment in collaborative robots will grow at a rate of 10% y-o-y for the coming ten years”
Collaborative robots (cobots) in industrial automation
The formation of new technical specifications for cobot and strict regulations to follow the standards set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Moreover, the application is primarily across hand guiding, power and force limiting mechanisms, safety-rated monitored stop, as well as speed and separation monitoring. Such functions are risky and cause damage to the worker's safety if operating it without the assistance of cobots. The ability to ensure workplace safety and work collaboratively with their human co-workers are expected to increase the demand for collaborative robots from the companies to follow industrial automation in the global market to strengthen its production capacity and product quality.