Universal Robots has introduced a collaborative robot technology (Cobot) accessible to companies of all sizes.

“Designed to mimic the range of motion of a human arm, programming the Cobot is pure child’s play. If you can handle a mobile, then you can use the Cobot with ease,” said Pradeep David, Country Head, India and Sri Lanka, Universal Robots.

Demonstrating how the “arm” gently picked the water bottle placed on the table and placed it in the case placed some distance away, David said “this is just a simple job, but the accuracy with which it is done shows how the robotic arm is capable of doing the repetitive job with ease.“If your job is say — tightening of bolts; doing the job repeatedly all day long can be tiring. Your hands will tend to ache after some time and the productivity will slide. But this Cobot is like a third arm; it can assist humans in doing the job. The intuitive software allows even the most inexperienced user to grasp the basics of programming quickly. And if it is a recurring task, programmes can be stored in the Cobot arm and reused,” he explained.

A cheap worker’s assistant

Comparing a traditional Robot with the portable Cobot, he said “Robots are expensive, but the Collaborative robot is far more affordable, priced between ₹15 and ₹22 lakh, designed to work alongside humans without danger of injury and more as a worker’s assistant or third arm.”

Further, it helps companies expand operations, enhance productivity with precision and create more job opportunities in supervisory roles, as it provides automated material handling solutions.”

Cobots can be used in a variety of applications such as pick and place, injection moulding, CNC, packaging, assembly, polishing, machine trending, gluing, dispensing, welding and so on.

The automobile industry, FMCG and electronics sector have taken to extensive use of the Cobot, he said. Universal Robot has in the first year of operations in India, completed 75 installations. “We will complete 200 this year,” he said.

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