Integration of robots into human work

Robots can be deployed anno 2024 in many different ways. Standalone at a fixed location, fully integrated into a process or even mobile and autonomous. Integration in processes means that the necessary links must be made in control technology to allow the various subsystems to communicate with each other optimally. If people are also involved in the process, then robots become cobots and it becomes almost complex again.

Cobots - which stands for collaborative (working together) robots - are increasingly being used within industrial automation. And rightly so. After all, this technical colleague has great potential to support humans in performing repetitive, heavy or simply complex work. To keep integration into human work safe, cobots have some distinctive features. 

Features

For starters, cobots are often lighter so that the impact (mass x speed) with people or objects when performing movements is lower. For the same reason, the speed of movements is reduced, which also makes it more peaceful for people to work together. Safety is further ensured by various sensors that allow the cobot to see and feel when it collides with something. It then stops completely or reduces speed, depending on the situation at hand.

Another characteristic of cobots is their great flexibility: the cobot can be integrated in many places in processes due, among other things, to the simple, intuitive way of programming. Cobots are also easy to move and - often with a relatively small footprint - can be placed anywhere in the factory. This also makes setups maximally scalable and, according to one cobot supplier, makes it possible to establish a "symbiotic collaboration" between humans and robots.

Applications

Precisely because of its flexible and versatile deployment, it is possible to automate various processes in a company with one cobot. There are certainly great examples of this within the SME sector. Such as a bakery that uses the cobot at the beginning of the day to help knead and then to grease and handle baking trays. For example, putting them in the oven, taking them out again and letting the finished product (buns) slide off the baking tray. At a later stage it is the colleague who helps to clean the baking trays. 

Practice shows that it is mainly a matter of getting used to and trying to discover all that a cobot can do. Once you are 'up to speed', you will constantly find new tasks in which a cobot can provide support. It is also good to keep in mind the limitations of a cobot. It simply cannot achieve the same speeds as a robot and is less productive in that respect. It is also often not possible to handle the same (heavy) payloads that are no problem for an industrial robot. Those who keep that in mind, however, will especially benefit from the flexible, lightweight and easy-to-program fellow.

Developments

With the successful use of cobots in various industries, there is also increasing research into the additional capabilities. Colleges in particular are making efforts to further expand the field of work and help companies make maximum use of the features of cobots. Within the Brainport Fieldlab "Flexible manufacturing," for example, research is being done on the steps needed to analyze the division of labor between humans and cobots. This includes a focus on simulation environments in which different scenarios are tested. 

In recent years, Windesheim University of Applied Sciences has conducted research (in collaboration with partners) into the answer to the question: how can cobots be used in the plastics industry to achieve higher efficiency levels of high mix/low volume production processes through further automation? A follow-up to this project is "cobots in production," which includes looking at the challenges around assembly and quality control.