Cobots Vs Robots: Which is it?

For many years, the use of robots in industries has been quite popular and is still a popular trend in many industries. The development of cobots has however become one of the biggest threats to robots with many companies turning towards it.

With many industries today striving to automate most of their processes, there has arisen a huge debate on which of the two is more useful in an industrial setup. This article will look into the differences between these two to determine which is best suited for you.

What are cobots?

Cobots (Collaborative robots) are robots that are specifically designed to interact safely with human workers. They were born to replace some of the robots which tend to be harmful to humans. Most of these cobots are mainly just two-armed robots, to ensure their mobility and flexibility in the tasks they can accomplish.
Differences between robots and cobots

1. Interaction with humans

Traditionally, robots have been known to work blind and thus end up harming anything that is in its way. This makes it hard for workers to work hand in hand with the robots as they are programmed to work autonomously.

Cobots, on the other hand, are designed to work together with the workers in a safe environment. They are able to work as human assistant operators and thus able to do even the little tasks that may seem degrading to other humans.

2. Ease of setting up

This is one of the biggest differences between these two. Unlike Industrial robots that require complex programming skills to set up and operate, Cobots are designed to be very easy to set up and program thus enabling it to be modified and complete various different tasks. It is also very easy to train and retrain it in performing different tasks.

The complexity of industrial robots limits it to working in only a specific area as very few operators can understand its program.

3. Safety of workers

Cobots are fitted with numerous sensors and can have pre-set speeds and torque that allow it to detect obstacles and humans ahead of them and thus they stop or halt their actions. This ensures that the safety of the workers is assured.

This eliminates the need for cages and fences which were previously built to contain the operations of an industrial robot. The robots, due to their lack of sensors would otherwise cause harm to the workers involved.

4. Flexibility

Most Cobots consist of a robotic arm that is small, lightweight and thus can be easily moved around to carry many different tasks. They also possess the ability to be mounted on any surface thus making it easy to handle the work that may be deemed as repetitive and boring to workers.

Most industrial robots are big and heavy and thus their application is limited to limited areas in the industry. This makes it very ineffective and thus leaving most repetitive works to the workers.

5. Applications in different fields

The design and features of cobots allow it to be applied in almost every field. Its lightweight feature allows it to be moved around by just one person and perform different tasks efficiently. The fact that it is easy to program also ensures that it can be easily retrained to adapt to different working conditions.

Industrial robots are however not as flexible due to their robust and complex program features. This makes its application in different areas very limited.

Conclusion

The comparison between cobots and robots clearly shows that Cobots can be more effective and useful in the industry. In as much as the robots have been useful in industries for a long time, Cobots are proving to be very effective and thus its high time for you to give it a chance!

Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Honda_ASIMO_Walking_Stairs.JPG

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