3 Examples of Cobots at Work
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Imagine a worker that doesn’t need coffee or washroom breaks, never calls in sick or needs to take time off, operates with a high degree of precision, doesn’t get back injuries, and is happy to support colleagues while doing the boring, manual grunt work without grumble or complaint.
Sound like an ideal employee?
If so, you might want to look at hiring a cobot.
A cobot - or collaborative robot - is designed to work alongside humans in industrial environments to carry out ergonomically difficult tasks (such as heavy lifting), repetitive or precision work so that human workers can focus on more complex, value added processes and tasks.
The key difference between collaborative robots and traditional robots and automation is that collaborative robots have been designed specifically to work alongside humans.
A cobot has built-in safety sensors and other features to ensure that human workers stay safe while working near the machine.
A traditional robot does not have these built-in safety features and would continue its work even if it meant potentially running over a person or chopping off a finger in the process.
The other difference with cobots is that they tend to be simpler, more easily reconfigured and can offer point solutions for lower volume processes. Industrial robots previously tended to be large and complex so would only be deployed for high volume, fixed production processes.
So just how are manufacturers and leading logistics companies utilizing cobots? Here are a few examples from Sanofi, Amazon, and Ford:
#1: Optimizing the Production Line and Reducing the Ergonomic Load on Workers
Global healthcare manufacturer Sanofi deploys cobots at the end of its line to help with product packaging. By using the cobot to lift the product packages (which each weigh between 3-8 kg) the cobot has reduced the ergonomic risk to workers; each cobot lifts 300-700 kilograms per day or packages.
The robot has also sped up processing and reduced working time by 10%. This has allowed the company to switch to three operators for two lines (rather than three operators per line as was previously the case).
The company says it is looking next to install cobots to load products into the cases on its lines.
#2: Stock Picking
E-commerce giant Amazon has been using cobots since 2012 to help with stock picking in their warehouses. These collaborative robots carry shelves of products from worker to worker, reducing the amount of time that human workers must spending walking through the warehouse.
According to the video, Amazon’s smart warehouse robots mean that the warehouse can hold 50% more stock, retrieve it three times faster, and reduce the overall cost of fulfillment by 40%.
The company now has over 200,000 cobots working in its warehouses and is working on the next generations of robots – including new ones inspired by Sesame Street characters, Bert, and Ernie – to deliver items to workers, lift heavy boxes, and work autonomously in the same areas as human workers.
#3: Supporting Injured or Disabled Workers
Cobots can support skilled human workers who have an injury or illness that limits the amount of physical work that they can do.
In the video below, Ford describes how a long-time employee suffered problems with his wrists and shoulders following an accident.
Ford developed Robbie the Cobot to work with the employee on the assembly line to press in and attach covers on the variable camshaft timing on the engine block.
