Communications of the ACM
Manufacturers Adopt Robots That Help Human Workers, Not Replace Them. For Now.
Collaborative robots, or cobots, are designed to augment the capabilities of human workers, and to be safe for people in interact with, easy to program, and inexpensive to install.
Credit: Numatic Engineering
Collaborative robots, or “cobots,” are becoming an increasingly popular automation tool for manufacturers looking to boost productivity.
Cobots are designed to augment the capabilities of human workers, and to be safe for people in interact with, easy to program, and inexpensive to install.
However, cobots' impact on employment may become an significant issue once the technology evolves beyond repetitive tasks and they become better at thinking and learning, warn some experts.
Cobot manufacturers, meanwhile, insist the machines will free up human workers to do more interesting jobs.
Universal Robots president Jurgen von Hollen, describes cobots as “the big equalizer” that will help smaller manufacturers grow despite difficulties in hiring and retaining laborers, as well as helping them develop greater flexibility in production.
From Chicago Tribune
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