Cobots Explained: The Collaborative Robots Transforming Workplaces

Imagine a coworker who is a great team player, has the dexterity of a surgeon, and a stamina that leaves the best athletes in the world in the dust, and you’ve got yourself a cobot. Short for collaborative robots, cobots are a new generation of machines designed to work with people, not instead of them.

Unlike traditional industrial robots, which are carefully placed behind safety fences in car factories, cobots are designed to share the same workspace as humans. They’re not just safe and affordable, but also remarkably adaptable. This adaptability makes them suitable for a wide range of tasks and industries, and surprisingly easy to use, even for businesses without a robotics engineer on staff.

What Makes Cobots Different?

What sets cobots apart is that they are built from the ground up to work side by side with people, unlike traditional robots, which are designed to perform one task quickly and without interruption. Cobots come equipped with sensors, safety systems, and intuitive controls, enabling them to work safely alongside the rest of the workforce.

As a result, cobots aren’t limited to massive, high-speed production lines. They’re now appearing in small workshops, labs, packaging centers, and any other place that couldn’t justify or support the complexity of traditional automation.

Where and How Cobots Are Used?

Cobots are being utilized across various industries to handle repetitive, physically demanding tasks or tasks that require a high level of consistency. Think of jobs like moving parts into machines, applying glue or screws, inspecting items with 3D scanners, or packaging goods for shipping.

In lab settings, they can pipette chemicals or prepare samples. In warehouses, they sort and pick items. Some even help with coffee-making or perform 3D scans of workpieces.

A Quick Example

Imagine you’re part of a quality control team for small electronic devices. Every day, multiple parts need to be 3D scanned to verify their dimensions. Manually holding the scanner and positioning it around each part is repetitive and tiring; by the end of the day, your wrists will feel the strain.

Now, imagine a cobot working alongside you. It holds the 3D scanner and moves it steadily around each part, capturing scan after scan to gather accurate and reliable data. Freeing you up to focus on reviewing the results, solving issues, or inspecting parts that need a human touch.

Why Cobots are Gaining Popularity

As labor shortages, rising production costs, and demand for flexible manufacturing increase, cobots like the Vbot 9 series are becoming an attractive solution for companies of all sizes. They’re not just safe and quick to deploy, but also highly cost-effective. Many cobots pay for themselves within a year, making them a sound investment for businesses. Their cost-effectiveness, combined with their ease of deployment and collaborative design, makes them a practical and accessible solution for a wide range of industries.