Robotics is developing at a rapid pace. Over the last ten years, overwhelming technologies have been developed in this field, especially with regard to the interaction between industrial robots and human workers.

From intelligent lifting systems designed to lift loads safely but without using their own kinetic energy, to the first cobots with integrated vision systems for obstacle avoidance, such as those on show at Automate 2019 in Chicago, collaborative robotics seems to be constantly revealing new ways in which automation can be integrated into the smart factory today.

A brief historical overview

The first definition of the cobot can be found in a US patent granted in 1999: "An apparatus and method for direct physical interaction between a person and a general purpose manipulator controlled by a computer."

The description refers to what we would now call an Intelligent Assist Device (IAD), the ancestor of modern cobots that emerged from General Motors' efforts to introduce robotics into the automotive industry. The new device could move around in an unfenced environment and assist humans during assembly. For safety reasons, however, it had no internal source of kinetic energy.

In 2004, Kuka, a German robotics pioneer, launched the LBR3, its first lightweight cobot with its own kinetic energy. This was the result of a long collaboration between the company and the German Aerospace Center. Its motion control capabilities were further developed in 2008 and 2013 with a new version in each year.

In 2008, Danish manufacturer Universal Robots launched the UR5, the first cobot that could be operated alongside human operators without any safety risks, eliminating the need for safety cages or fencing. The new robot officially ushered in the era of flexible, user-friendly and cost-effective collaborative robotics. These enabled even small to medium sized manufacturers to automate their production lines without having to invest in costly technology or completely re-equip their factories. Universal Robots is still the global market leader in this field today, selling more robots than all its competitors combined.

Like all revolutionary technologies, cobots were initially met with skepticism in the manufacturing industry. As tech journalist Travis Hessman reported in 2012, most plant managers saw them as a technological marvel, but doubted the idea of integrating them into a work environment. Today, the market for industrial cobots is growing by 50 percent annually, and the industry is expected to generate a global turnover of three billion dollars by 2020.

Trends and forecasts

Although cobots are evolving rapidly, there are still obstacles that prevent them from being used in the majority of manufacturing facilities. The main ones are the need for dexterity - for example, when picking up small or fragile parts - and the ability to make quick decisions to avoid obstacles without disrupting production.