The robotics industry has proven to be growing at a rapid speed. Three years back, Uber started testing the very first batch of self-driving cars and a year later, the company unveiled 16 of its self-driving SUVs in San Francisco. As far as collaborative robots go, they are expected to grow by over 40% each year for the next five years according to research.
The market acceptance drones and other types of COBOTS is responsible for the non-industrial growth of robots. Between 2015 and 2020, the collaborative robotics sector is expected to reach over $1 billion from an estimated $95 million in 2014.
While industrial robots are put in cages to keep human beings safe and out of harm’s way, collaborative robots can safely leave their cages and work alongside humans while doing tasks for them. COBOTS come in all shapes and sizes and they feature soft and rounded surfaces as well as integrated sensors to help reduce the risk of crushing, impact and pinching, thus ensuring maximum safety.
For this reason, COBOTS are set to rid the world of industrial robots since for the first time they will put automation within the reach of numerous medium-sized and small companies. While this adds up to the popularity of COBOTS, here are some other reasons why its market is rapidly growing.
They are cheap
The constant lowering of prices for collaborative robotics is one of the main reasons why its market is rapidly growing. There is a wide range of COBOTS available for less than $45,000. In addition, the viability of these robots is quickly extending outside the factory setting as well.
Their low price tag is attributed to the fact that computer power and sensors have become considerably cheap thus driving the cost of robotics lower. This makes them more available to all-sized businesses.
Ease of use
Another factor contributing to the rapid growth of collaborative robots is their ease of use, all thanks to the advancing capabilities of edge computing. These types of robots are not only becoming easier to quicker program. This helps reduce the initial automation investment levels and implementation time. There are collaborative robots that do not even need programming knowledge.
Once guided through a specified process by a worker, some collaborative robots have the ability of carrying out repetitive tasks such as gluing, welding, packaging, picking and placing. Ease of use increases the flexibility of COBOTS since they can easily adapt to new tasks. This means they are able to perform tasks without flaws and further improve automation investment return.
They are Safer
The safety requirements for collaborative robots are far stricter than those of industrial robots. This is because COBOTS are designed to operate outside of a barrier or safety cage and more closely with humans. For this reason, these types of robots are considered to be safer.
They are flexible
As compared to heavier and larger robots, collaborative robots can be easily moved about without much of a hustle. This is particularly advantageous to low-volume manufactures with high diversity since COBOTS can be rapidly deployed in various production processes.
Collaborative robots can lift up to 22 pounds of weight and can be tiny enough to fit on top of a workbench.
They enhance employee development
Since collaborative robots are created to perfume duties that are laborious and hard for the human taskforce, they help enhance employee development. This way, employees are able to work more efficiently, faster and safer. Research shows that companies utilizing these type of robots are able to compete with competitors based in countries enjoying low labor cost.
Since COBOTS offer time saving, this gives operators more time to focus on other tasks of high value like process optimization.
As we look forward to brighter universal robotics, more and more people are eager to adopt this type of technology because of these and more.