This section provides overview, applications, and principles of collaborative robots. Also, please take a look at the list of 6 collaborative robot manufacturers and their company rankings.
Table of Contents
A Collaborative robot is robots that allow robots and people to work in the same area. 2013 deregulation has led to the introduction of collaborative robot in many places. Since they can work together with people without safety barriers, they have the effect of reducing human workload and errors, contributing to labor shortages.
In the manufacturing industry, collaborative robot is used in a wide range of industries, such as food, automobiles, and electronic components, while paying attention to safety, because collaborative robot increase productivity and operating rates, and enable efficient manufacturing.
Collaborative robots are used in a wide range of industries because they are relatively small, can perform detailed work, and can be used in confined workspaces.
In the food industry, they are used for slicing, cutting, and picking. In the automotive industry, they are responsible for forming presses, laser cutting, and assembly. In the electronic parts industry, they are used in almost all processes related to manufacturing, such as mounting and assembly, which require accuracy of 0.1 mm.
They are also used in a variety of other fields, including conveyance of machine parts, assembly of small parts, screw tightening, setting on machine tools, packaging, injection molding, adhesion, welding, quality inspections, and other detailed and force-intensive tasks.
Collaborative robots are more flexible for tasks than conventional industrial robots. Depending on the model and application, collaborative robots has joints with five or six axes and can perform high-speed, high-precision work. In addition, image sensors and image processing systems are used to recognize objects. Some models can be operated with buttons attached to the arm to direct the robot's movements.
Technological advances have facilitated work programming and reduced the time required for start-up.
In order to work in collaborative with humans, safety measures are taken to ensure that collaborative robots do not injure people. Many collaborative robots are rounded in shape to prevent people from being injured when bumping into them. Most are also equipped with contact sensors to stop operation when touched by a person.
Others, for example, are equipped with an LED light function on the robot arm to indicate the robot's status so that the user can check its operating condition.
Safety is fully considered, but risk assessment is necessary.
There are various types of collaborative robots ranging in price from several million yen to tens of millions of yen. For example, Fujikoshi Corporation sells a slim-type cooperative robot called CZ10 for as low as 1 million yen.
In addition, Denso Wave Corporation offers a human-collaborative robots called COBOTTA for about 2,220,000 yen.
As the demand for industrial robots continues to increase to save labor and improve productivity, the price of collaborative robots are expected to become less expensive in the future.
With the growth of the robotics industry, especially in developed countries, the demand for collaborative robots are expected to continue to grow in the future. According to a report published by the International Federation of Robotics, in 2018, 14,000 of the 422,000 robots installed were collaborative robots. As a percentage of total installations, this is about 3%, but the growth rate is up 23%.
In addition, since the automotive industry is robust worldwide, demand for collaborative robots are likely to grow, especially in the automotive industry.
Collaborative robots are required to be able to work safely in cooperation with humans. Teaching is a control method for this purpose. Teaching generally refers to a technique to make a robot learn its own movements.
There are several types of teaching. In the method called "direct teaching," a person directly moves the robot by hand to make it learn its movements. The robot arm has a built-in force sensor, torque sensor, or servo motor capable of torque detection.
This automatically calculates the externally applied force, speed, and angle of rotation, and stores them as robot programming.
The robot performs the memorized motions on a production line, etc., and performs machining, welding, assembly, etc., by repeatedly providing feedback.
*Including some distributors, etc.
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Ranking as of January 2023 in United States
Derivation MethodRank | Company | Click Share |
---|---|---|
1 | Iplusmobot Technology Co., Ltd. | 28.6% |
2 | UNIVERSAL ROBOTS A/S | 28.6% |
3 | Shenzhen Yuejiang Technology Co.,Ltd | 14.3% |
4 | Shenzhen Han's Robot Co., Ltd | 14.3% |
5 | FANUC | 14.3% |
Ranking as of January 2023 Globally
Derivation MethodRank | Company | Click Share |
---|---|---|
1 | Iplusmobot Technology Co., Ltd. | 25% |
2 | UNIVERSAL ROBOTS A/S | 25% |
3 | ABB Ltd | 12.5% |
4 | Shenzhen Yuejiang Technology Co.,Ltd | 12.5% |
5 | FANUC | 12.5% |
6 | Shenzhen Han's Robot Co., Ltd | 12.5% |
Derivation Method
The ranking is calculated based on the click share within the collaborative robot page as of January 2023. Click share is defined as the total number of clicks for all companies during the period divided by the number of clicks for each company.Number of Employees
Newly Established Company
Company with a History
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