Cobots - A new way of technology

D. Becerra, J. Paredes, G. Vaca

Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas-ESPE, Ecuador

Resumen—Cobots also known as collaborative robots, they are sions, thus saving the need for brakes to reduce movement
a marked deviation from industrial robots that, unlike them, will or eliminate displacement [1]. Each mechanical system is
not get away from people, they interact with these software dares created according to control parameters starring the amount
that restrict and guide the movement of payload.
Index Terms—Collaborative robots, movement restrictions, of governable variables with respect to those existing in that
industrial technology, virtual education, degrees of freedom same system within the space.
These systems have unique properties that vary according to
I. I NTRODUCTION the implementations made, for example, within an articulated
An immense variety of technological needs have emerged system with a scroll wheel (unicycle), the restriction formed is
as the years go by, technology to help human beings, the radius of curvature according to the speed supplied in the
collaboration, continuous action, problem solving and robot’s movement , as shown in Figure 1, then, despite having
support in various activities are developed more and more allowed addresses (x, y) there are dependent parameters.
electronically, robots have taken a wide market and they
gained prominence in relation to advances and inventions thus
creating various types according to the needs and mission.
A very young industrial solution that has evolved with cobots,
collaborative robots, which, unlike standard robots, which
drive alone, without help and in controlled isolation, help users
as if it were a human. Destined to generate balanced work,
and harmony in specific tasks, having a different technological
approach, developing through various degrees of freedom,
architectures that agreed on their objective, the physical
appearance also changes according to the environment
in which they are, have been destined to many uses, from
industry to education and various approaches in human health.

II. C O - BOTS - A RCHITECTURE AND DEVELOPMENT

Description of these computer systems, together with an
architectural base that moves according to the programming
established in a processor embedded within the circuits of
the machine, began to develop as it was better understood,
the approach and the guidelines that were to be be taken
to ensure an efficient design, which meets the minimum
standards (since they existed), as well as visually appealing
within the context in which it will be used.
The co-bots were born as an efficient solution to the energy,
temporary and ergonomic expenditure of industrial workers in
environments that created psychological stress and excessive
physical fatigue, such as extremely repetitive tasks, very
heavy loads, toxic environments for the respiratory tract,
large jobs terrain, like painting cargo planes. Figura 1. Radius of curvature created due to limitation of wheel movement.
Its implementation required development and understanding Speed is u, phi is the angle on the x axis [1]
of mobile systems, in addition to an efficient use of freedom
of movement in the created joints. The first variables that were controlled were x, and within
which you can easily add a third (x, y, theta), creating a more
independent system, with fewer undetermined (ungoverned)
II-A. Rotation and displacement variables, as observed in Figure 2 These systems were the
Singularly, the restrictions and movement capabilities within rotational ones, creating an angular speed in the joints where
Co-bots robotic systems are carried out through transmis- the tires were implemented, we take into account that the
 Cuadro I
machines we are talking about are primitive, the first inven- I NDUSTRIAL C O - BOTS
tions and prototypes were made with wheels without angular
movement. After this they followed investigations in question Year General Robots Co-bots Co-bots percentage
to movement, ranges, freedom, rotational and longitudinal 2017 400000 11100 2.75 %
2018 420000 13672 3.25 %
axes.

Cuadro II
C O - BOTS G LOBAL M ARKET

Year MDD
2018 710
2025 12303

speed and repeatability with the cognitive abilities of the

human being. [3]

III-A. Implementation costs

Figura 2. Angular velocity applied to wheels, rotatory mechanism [2]
II-B. Artificial intelligence and control
The data processing can be performed more efficiently, each
programming of instructions supplied to a co-bot is unilateral,
can be performed in a specific way, can not leave ranges, vary
parameters or skip steps, beyond the conditions created within
of the programming code, which creates certain limitations.
In terms of efficiency, the processes have variation according
to the context in which they are presented, the artificial intelli-
gence implemented to the co-bots can fill that uncontrolled ho-
le creating a criterion of differentiation according to the capa-
bilities, objectives and obstacles, an example are implemented
in hand tasks, such as, circuit building, classification of objects
according to their type. Another example of this technique is
the co-bots used as ”third hand”, capable of generating a space
to help the user to hold tools, plans, assemblies, among others,
that require highly specific and specialized attention, holding
parts of a system or tools , performing periodic measurements,
assembling parts and more.
It is evident that the implementation of robots generates a
high output for the industry; According to the Word Robotics
report in 2018, approximately 16.5 billion dollars have
been invested, representing around 422,000 industrial robots
distributed worldwide. The implementation of collaborative
robots is significantly low in comparison, since they only
represent 3.24 % of industrial robotics, that is, no more than
14,000 collaborative robots have been implemented in the
industry. As shown in Table I, the implementation of co-bots
in the industry is minimal, however it can be seen that
between 2017 and 2018, the implementation of Co-bots has
grown considerably, in an annual increase of 23 %. [4]
According to the “Collaborative Robots Market” market
study developed by MarketsandMarkets, it is estimated that
the global co-bots market will grow from 710 million dollars
in 2018 to a value of 12303 million dollars by 2025 as can
be seen in the Table II
III-B. Impact to industrial worker
Audi, an automotive company, presents a survey to study
the attitudes of workers towards the implementation of robots
in their industry; For the survey they took a sample of 42
workers, of which, given the question
Can the implementation of Co-bots generate changes? a) Quite
positive, b) Very Positive, c) Quite Negative, d) Very negative.
[3]

III. I NDUSTRIAL C O - BOTS
It is proven that Collaborative robots are eighty percent
more productive than traditional robots or than a worker;
Efficiency is due to the fact that collaborative robots and an
operator work and save half the time that workers or robots
work on their own. Industrial robotics is one of the new
frontiers in which collaborative robots have been introduced,
coupling the characteristics of the robots such as: precision,
As you can see in Figure 3, 83 % of respondents think that the
implementation of Co-bots is a positive factor, however when
asked, do you think your current work could be done by a
robot? The following was obtained:
As seen in Figure 4, there is a suspicion of the operator towards
the machine because there is a fear of being replaced, and
losing jobs [4]

Figura 3. Does Co-bots implementation generate changes?
Figura 4. Do you believe that your actual job could be made by a robot?
III-C. Characteristics and advantages of co-bots industrial
implementation
The characteristics that make Co-bots important for the
industry are Accessibility, that is, any operator is able to assign
tasks, without much knowledge, since the interface of a Co-
bot is friendly; Flexibility, due to its compact and lightweight
structure a Co-bot. [5]
Security, given that it is a robot, its design must not be
detached from the safety standards of the traditional robot (ISO
EN 10218), since it is designed to interact with collaborative
robots, they must adhere to the technical recommendations
set out in ISO / TS 15066 (Robots and robotic devices -
collaborative robots), this allows interaction between robot
users to be more secure. [6]
Despite the cost of implementation and involvement in wor-
kers, it is important to highlight the following crucial advan-
tages in the industry when implementing Co-bots. [7]
The industries that implement Co-bots are more compe-
titive, because production times are reduced, so they are
allowed to offer products at lower prices.
The accuracy and repeatability of the Co-bot provide
better quality and increased production
It reduces the risk of occupational diseases in workers,
that is, improves the work environment.
Co-bots provide more security to the worker, so the risk
of injury is reduced.
III-D. Universal Robots e-Series
They are a series of collaborative robots, applied to the
industry. Each one with a different scope payload, but with
the same accuracy, precision and reliability, an example of
implementation of these Co-bots is the Spanish multinational
Continental Automotive Spain that in the sector of the most
robotic automotive in Spain, in 2017 it implements two UR10
robots to load and unload PCB boards and to assemble
components, thus reducing change times by 50 %, from 40
to 20 minutes. [8]
Figura 5. e-Series, UR10e, UR16e [8]
IV. E DUCATIONAL C O - BOTS
The implementation of education for students with
disabilities or specials explains that the collaborative robots
better called co-bots in interaction with the students already
said with cognitive impairment or disability of some kind, can
create openness to a different point of perception regarding
cognitive development and emotional A Co-bot used for this
purpose can be described as integrators and sources of vital
information for students belonging to this type of disability.
[9] An example of the social use of co-bots with the Ave
Marı́a de Sitges Foundation and its Robotics Institute for
Dependency is shown in Figure 6.
IV-A. Laundry ID
The Ave Marı́a de Sitges Foundation in Spain, which
founded its Robotics Institute in January 2015, for dependency
is an iceberg in social assistance with collaborative robotics,
fully understanding that support for learning for dependent
people, created to research and create products began by
solving problems such as putting chips on clothes that

Figura 6. Pepper Robot.[9]
armchairs do not break and ended up in the world of
collaborative robotics that is the most compromising future
of technology, says the founder of this institution, now
they do much smarter things, robots to help educator and
the learning method; Laundry ID is an creator of inclusive
employment for people with disabilities is an inclusive,
ergonomic and ecological Laundry, the system allows to
identify and distribute without mistake the personal clothes
of residents, presents a chip with RFID is a radio frequency
identification, workers they are residents and they make the
clothes go through a reader that the owner detects, the color
and name of the owner is illuminated on the screen and in
the place where you must leave it for classification a red
emergency LED until you take out the tray and Enter the
selected garment, Laundry ID is awarded by the European
Union for its technological and social value. [10] Figure 7
is an image of Laundry ID, the washer and dryer where the
clothes are placed with radio frequency chip and there is no
damage.
Figura 7. Laundry ID [7] .
IV-B. Rehabibotics
The use of humanoid robots in therapies with intellectual
disabilities (ID), seeks to increase the quality of life of
these people, among its objectives we have to analyze the
requirements for efficient cognitive stimulation through
humanoid robots, to be able to capture the moods or emotions
of Patients and showing empathy is a complex process that
is booming research; Collaborative robotics with neuronal
impulses is a present of the technological world. Pepper is
a co-bot created in France in order to socialize with people,
its motto is to help people in Figure 6 we observe Pepper
who answers questions and shows empathy to change your
mood, used this or some prototype in foundations to provide
cognitive rehabilitation for people struggling with clinical
concerns including children with autism spectrum disorder
people with dementia individuals DI. [eleven]. Social robots
show an empathetic interaction that is crucial for the release
of cognitive stimulation with ID people, the Rehabibotics
project presents a multi modal database with individuals
with registered identification in almost real environments for
the affective analysis of moods MuDERI is a Multimodal
database equipped with audiovisual recordings, RGB-D
videos and physiological signals from 12 participants in real
environments, and most importantly, the database is publicly
available. [12]
Figura 8. Rehabibotics
IV-C. Operator’s and educator’s impact
The (RAIA) Robotics Automation and Artificial Intelligence
is very relevant today with the change of how a job is done,
but the fear of a worker is to be replaced, ethically we can
not innovate damaging it we have to analyze the impact
from the perspective of the worker and educator. [13] The
best idea is to make it a machine operator, the analysis of
the MarketsandMarkets consultancy with the market study
Çollaborative Robots Market”states that working human
machine (Collaborative Robotics) is eighty percent more
effective than working only the human or vice versa. Due
to its great influence in the education and therapy industry,
a 50.31 percent growth during the forecast period, the
reason covers its quality efficiency and, above all, its fastest
safe programming, they have accepted and adopted the
collaborative robots in the industry and education. [14] Figure
8 presents an example of a collaborative robot in the industry
for the manufacture of mechanical parts by the order of an
operator which guarantees a safe procedure and adequate
revision in its intervention.
The majority of workers around the world are concerned
about the negative impact of the RAIA on work, the surveys
carried out in different geographical areas support it, in
the Eurobarometer on the impact of robotics most think
negatively; “The position is lost by the use of robotics”, but
they affirm that they would feel more comfortable with a
robot to help them at work, and one in twenty respondents
do not know how it affects the worker and the educator. [15]
Figures 9 and 10 present the responses to the Eurobarometer
survey regarding the perception of the impact of the RAIA
on the work data provided by the European Commission.
Figura 9. RAIA Knowledge EU[16]
Figura 10. RAIA Knowledge US[16]
It is inevitable, the RAIA exposes its employees to constant
technological advances. It is necessary to educate those
affected enough to be able to move forward by improving the
quality of work so that it becomes reliable and competent;
The use of co-bots is new, we need to be able to adopt the
changes for the future career and positioning in the labor
market, it can be tragic to ignore these significant changes,
we run the risk that the Robots as much as the Co-bots
are rejected, every field will experience a specific degree of
impact, as a government company or leader of an organization
that wishes to make a productive change, social assistance or
a benefit, should focus on the skills of workers and how to
ensure a positive impact of this technology on employment,
quality of work and remuneration. [16]
Further research in this area is needed to ensure employees
are well positioned against the changes and that they can
manage such improvements in a positive way. [17]
IV-D. Third Hand, Co-bots Assisted Precise Montage
Collaborative robots (Co-bots) are indispensable tools in the
factories of the future. Due to their safety-focused design, Co-
bots are allowed to work side-by-side with humans, making
their use as a third part of assistance attractive for tedious
assembly tasks. Consequently, a robot is proposed that can
be guided by hand to lift and hold the pieces in place while
the human being performs assembly tasks. This functionality
reduces the risk for workers (falling components, for example),
provides precision, allows heavier parts to be lifted and
increases productivity by allowing human workers to focus
on tasks of greater added value [10]. The name identifies it,
the third hand is a direct reference of collaborative robots
working together with an operator and most of the time they
do precision work force or a difficult function for the operator
as shown in Figure 11.
Figura 11. Third hand, Co-bots Assisted Precise Assembly
IV-E. Acceptance on Education
Inclusion is what matters most in Co-bots projects in
experiments and intentions of use during the design of a
co-bots states that Research and comments on how to evaluate
the future acceptance of technological design have agreed
that there is acceptability the development of new systems ,
although in real life ecologically speaking they are not seen a
viable future, the creation and design of co-bots can greatly
influence the evolution of society, if it accepts it [17]
V. C ONCLUSIONS
* The creation of a new technology requires adaptation
of several parameters, studies and understanding of all
 the variables to be controlled inside and outside the
system to be carried out, the Co-bots are an example
of avant-garde technology that had and has an extremely
high evolution and covers several paths in information,
industrialization, automation and research. Each of the
parameters studied were necessary for the adaptation
of a model with minimum standards to meet efficiency
and profitability within the market, whether industrial or
commercial.
* Every invention needs optimization, this is how you reach
products with wide applications and few restrictions in
terms of use.
* The acceptance of collaborative Robotics leads to analyze
several points of view as positively or negatively affected,
making clear the difference of a robot with a cobots;
cobots are a functional advantage saving time, money,
it is ethical for the worker for the joint work he provides.
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