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A Smart Microfactory Design: An Integrated Approach
Published in Wasim Ahmed Khan, Ghulam Abbas, Khalid Rahman, Ghulam Hussain, Cedric Aimal Edwin, Functional Reverse Engineering of Machine Tools, 2019
Syed Osama bin Islam, Liaquat Ali Khan, Azfar Khalid, Waqas Akbar Lughmani
“Cobot” is the abbreviation for a collaborative robot which works in collaboration with a human operator. The cobots manipulate the objects that in turn assist humans; this will be done in accordance with the constraints and guidelines set by the users. These guidelines and constraints can be in terms of virtual surfaces defined by user [21]. The difference between cobots and autonomous industrial robots is that they directly interact with a human operator, sharing the same workspace and even payload, whereas autonomous industrial robots remain isolated from humans due to safety issues [22]. This collaboration between the humans and robots is in the revolutionary stage; it is expected that these robots work as companions in line with the humans by reading their behaviors and adapting to any changes real time. This is also termed as human–robot collaboration (HRC), the efficiency of HRC depends on effective monitoring of human’s actions and the environment, the use of AI to anticipate the actions and state of mind by processing previous knowledge so that likely contribution to the task by human can be ascertained. This type of learning requires robots (cobots) to adapt to variety of humans, different types of human behaviors experienced by them, and different human needs. These types of robots are also termed as “social-cobots”, where such adaptation results in more efficient and synchronous working of both the partners; this in turn increases the overall yield of the process [23].
What Is Industry 5.0?
Published in Pau Loke Show, Kit Wayne Chew, Tau Chuan Ling, The Prospect of Industry 5.0 in Biomanufacturing, 2021
Omar Ashraf ElFar, Angela Paul A/p Peter, Kit Wayne Chew, Pau Loke Show
To acquire this collaboration in the workspace, Industry 5.0 suggests cobots or collaborative robots. Cobots are utilized to optimize the manufacturing processes and make work safer. It is the use of cobots that have contributed to bringing the human issue and complaints in manufacturing to decrease. As technology advances, the quality rate advances as well to a higher level, in a sense of moving from quality 4.0 to 5.0 is more focused on the use of both autonomic collaborative robotic machines with human reactions that utilizes cyber-physical systems to achieve having a cobot. That would intelligent enough to lower the workload on the human being to help them relax from too much work.
Contemporary Conditions of Supply Chains
Published in Andrzej Szymonik, Robert Stanisławski, Supply Chain Security, 2023
Andrzej Szymonik, Robert Stanisławski
To improve the processes carried out in the supply chain, the following types of robots are used (Roboty magazynowe w erze logistyki 4.0, 2021):Industrial robots – these are machines that have been designed to completely replace the work of operators. Their task is to perform difficult and repetitive activities, most often related to the handling of massive loads. Examples of this type of equipment in warehouses are stacker cranes and industrial conveyors.Collaborative robots, also known as cobots, assist the operators in the warehouse. Unlike industrial robots, they work in close contact with humans. Their design ensures that they do not pose a threat to the operator's safety. They can be programmed to operate fully autonomously or in accordance with instructions received from an employee. In warehouses, cobots are used mainly for handling loads and packing goods.Business robots – they handle standard online applications or standard telephone calls. It is done by RPA (Robotic Process Automation) bots which are programs (sets of algorithms) that emulate an employee and carry out repetitive tasks that so far had to be performed manually. These include basic office tasks such as: completing and recording invoices, administration of data (e.g. sales results, personal data of candidates and employees, competition results), control of compliance of financial documents or preparation and distribution of reports within various departments of the organization based on numerous data collected in distributed systems of the enterprise.
Collaborative or substitutive robots? Effects on workers’ skills in manufacturing activities
Published in International Journal of Production Research, 2023
Jéssica de Assis Dornelles, Néstor F. Ayala, Alejandro G. Frank
In contrast to traditional industrial robots, cobots are equipped with safety devices, including sensors, vision systems, and controllers, enabling them to interact directly with workers in a secure environment. This unique feature makes cobots an appealing solution for shop-floor activities, as they combine advanced task automation with workers’ tasks, enhancing process flexibility (Liu et al. 2022; Matheson et al. 2019; Bauer et al. 2016). Previous studies have extensively explored the use of cobots in manufacturing activities, highlighting their applications in assembly, material movement, quality control, and machine operation (Dornelles, Ayala, and Frank 2022; Liu et al. 2022; Matheson et al. 2019). The assembly activity involves a series of operations performed on components, following a specific order and set of conditions (Tarallo et al. 2018). Material movement activities revolve around handling materials, parts, and products on the shop floor (Green, Lee, and Kozman 2010). Quality control focuses on preventing non-conformities in manufactured products (Genta, Galetto, and Franceschini 2020). Machine operation entails the management of production equipment to execute operational processes (Seider, Seader, and Lewin 2019). In these four manufacturing activities, cobots can interact with humans in various ways, which may depend on the specific nature of the activity or the design of the workflow and cobot involvement.
Security and safety assurance of collaborative manufacturing in industry 4.0
Published in Enterprise Information Systems, 2022
Z. M. Bi, Bin Chen, Lida Xu, Chong Wu, C. Malott, M. Chamberlin, T. Enterline
The first cobot was designed by Peshkin and Colgate (1999) for a direct human–robot interaction over a dedicated workstation. The meaning of cobot was then expanded over time. Today, a cobot is generally referred as a robot that is designed and built to collaborate with humans. The first commercial cobot, i.e., the Universal Robot (UR), was launched in 2008. An UR was designed as an assistive tool to collaborate with a human with easy programming. There are around 40 manufacturers who produce commercial cobots globally. The leading companies in this field are ABB, Espon Robots, FANUC, Festo, Kuka, MGS Machine, Pmron, Rethink Robotics, Universal robots, and Yaskawa Motoman (Ostergaard 2019; Robotiq (2019b)). Bi et al. (2021d) gave some examples of HRCs applications in manufacturing and service industries as shown in Table 1.
Application, Development and Future Opportunities of Collaborative Robots (Cobots) in Manufacturing: A Literature Review
Published in International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 2022
Li Liu, Fu Guo, Zishuai Zou, Vincent G. Duffy
In contrast to traditional robots that require an isolated work area, cobots allow human workers to operate beside them safely (Murashov et al., 2016). Some of this is due to the safety inherent in the design of the robot, while others are due to the cost of speed and forces of the cobot (Zanchettin et al., 2016). Hence, the Assembly Line Balancing Problem (ALBP) in the case of human-cobot collaborative work is the crucial point of human-cobot interaction. It has been studied by (Dalle Mura & Dini, 2019) and (Weckenborg & Spengler, 2019) to explore a better way to distribute the tasks based on the assembly line cost, the number of skilled workers on the line, and the energy load variance among workers. Others have developed intelligent task-based systems to balance productivity and ergonomics (Pearce et al., 2018; Zhang et al., 2021). Cobots developed purposely for performing manufacturing tasks have emerged as an attractive solution to reduce occupational risk. A project was developed by (Realyvásquez-Vargas et al., 2019) in a manufacturing company to integrate a cobot in an assembly line and revealed that the cobot frees employees from potential occupational risks. Nowadays, the focus of cobot applications is mainly on using cobots to help human workers complete repetitive and heavy physical tasks. With the accelerated development of AI technology in the future, more cognitive, auditory, and tactile tasks will be assigned to cobots to reduce occupational risks.