What is a cobot?

A Cobot is a collaborative robot. This means that this cobot robot can collaborate with humans without the need for fencing. Cobots have built-in safety measures such as a safety stop. The moment an unsafe situation arises, the cobot immediately stops work. This makes cobots very easy to use. You can stop a cobot gripper with your bare hands. The cobot then immediately drops out.

What is the difference between a cobot and an industrial robot?

Industrial robots are the big robots you might know from the auto industry. They can weld or spray paint cars together, among other things. These types of industrial robots cannot be moved because they are fixed in place. You also need fencing to separate your workers from the powerful robtot arms to ensure safety.

Cobots are smaller than industrial robots. You can therefore use cobots much more extensively, in industries from a bakery to logistics. They are less heavy and safety measures are built in so they can stand next to people. If you touch a cobot with your hand, it will stop working. This prevents accidents in the workplace.

Because cobots are smaller than most industrial robots, they are also suitable for companies where there is not much space. You can even mount a cobot on the ceiling in many cases.

How do you avoid staff shortages?

Sometimes it is difficult to get staff for certain jobs. This is when cobots offer a solution. Solve your staff shortage permanently by buying a cobot or temporarily rent a cobot to bridge your staff shortage between seasons.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of robotization?

Many workers already accustomed to automated work floors become very happy with cobots. For people worried about the robotization of the labor market: there is absolutely no need to be. Instead of completely replacing human labor, we are more often seeing cobots and industrial robots being used to supplement human capabilities. Also, new jobs are being created (not only at manufacturing companies but also in schools, where new courses on robots are being taught) and human skills – such as creativity, complex decision-making and empathy – will always remain valuable. Those skills cannot be automated.

What are the benefits of cobot robots?

A cobot is:

Easily programmable: program the route the robot arm should take by grabbing the arm and recording the route;
Low weight and easily movable: place the cobot on a cart and use the cobot robot in multiple places on the shop floor.
Flexible: put another cobot-gripper (gripper) on your cobot and re-program your cobot. In the morning your cobot screws together apple crates and in the afternoon the same cobot robot puts apples in those crates.

What are the benefits of cobots for your workforce?

Employees who do a lot of repetitive work can suffer from RSI or other complaints, and if the weight to be handled is greater, the physical strain on your employees also increases. Cobots help you reduce or solve these problems. For example, a cobot robot effortlessly carries products weighing as much as ten to twenty kilograms, over and over again. This relieves employees physically. This also has a benefit for you as an employer: you reduce the amount of sick leave.

Your workers will also have a lot of time left over to engage in other work. For example, if a cobot is assembling a product, the worker can, in the meantime, prepare the parts for the next product. The result: significantly higher production. The employee no longer has to assemble the product himself. Want to learn more about the benefits and applications of cobots? Then read more on our applications page.