What is this article about?
The so-called cobots (collaborative robots) are experiencing growing popularity. This article is to share a few links to compare the cobots on the market. I hope the collection will help newcomers to the collaborative robotic world to quickly get an overview about the brands and robots out there.
Cobots on the Market
It all took off with the first Kuka Lightweight Arm and the first Universal Robots more or less a decade ago. Cobots have now turned into a growing market. Many new OEMs have joined in the recent years. At the same time, most traditional robot OEMs have developed their own collaborative robots. Additionally, they have upgraded members of their classical industrial robot line-up to enable collaborative modes and to facilitate closer interaction with human operators. This is great! Once you have decided to increase automation of your processes you can chose from a great variety of robots. At the same time, the sheer variety can be daunting. Getting a clear picture of what is best for you can be time consuming. The links below will help you to compare the cobots on the market.
Compare Cobots
The following links will help you to make a quick first comparison. The websites list primary specs such as maximum reach, payload capacity and accuracy (repeatability):
- Cobotics World is a nicely made simple website listing numerous cobots. You can filter the list by robot characteristics such as the number of axes, payload, maximum reach and repeatability. There is an image of every robot. A click on the image leads you to more details about the manufacturer and information such as the market availability of the robot.
- Cobots Guide follows a similar concept as Cobotics World, but with fewer robots. A useful feature is the comparison chart.
- Direct-Industry.com lists only very few cobots. However it does so in the format of a comparison chart with application examples. Furthermore it gives brief answers to common beginner questions such as the why and when to chose an industrial cobot.
- Robotics Business Review has published a white paper adressing the question on “how to pick the right cobot for your business”. It is not free, but gratis. They want to know some data about you.
- Cobottrends.com is less chic than Cobotics World, but lists plenty of cobots in a long comparison chart. The chart gives also pricing indications. Just like the other sites, the chart compares the number of axis, the horizontal reach, the payload and repeatability of the different systems. The chart links to the manufacturers website, so you can do deeper research about your favorite choices.
- Qviro.com a comprehensive page run by a startup that compares cobots based on user reviews. From their website: “Qviro gathers unbiased user reviews on satisfaction and ranks the cobots accordingly. We don’t allow sponsoring to get products on top of the list.”
Summary
The websites above provide you already with some directions to narrow down the list of cobots to use for your application. Note that the primary specs listed on these websites are only the beginning of the journey to arrive at a decision. Cobot OEMs offer entire ecosystems of software, tools and add-ons to explore. From experience, once you go with one OEM, it is likely you will stick with them for many years.
Obviously, the links above will not make you cobot expert. They should however equip you with vocuabulary and basic knowledge prior to consulting a professional cobot integrator.
If you have any links you think I should add to the list above, let me know. I’ll be happy to have a look.
A little update: I added Qviro to the list.