Omron’s factory in Shanghai is creating an environment in which humans and robots work together to meet today’s manufacturing challenges, such as manpower shortages and overall equipment effectiveness. The goal is to employ collaborative robots (also called “cobots”) to help humans and machines collaborate more closely and achieve true harmony. Cobots have many advantages from a safety point of view, since they can operate at a slower speed in collaborative mode and make a safe stop if contact becomes likely.
Collaborative robots significantly reduce the risk of human error in high-mix, low volume production lines that can’t be fully automated. By helping to eliminate the need for manual data input and management, cobots can significantly improve traceability and overall quality. In addition, they can be integrated with mobile robots like Omron’s LD Series to freely and autonomously move between production lines to transport parts and material.
