A cobot is an industrial robot built with force-limiting joints, rounded edges, and advanced collision detection. Unlike traditional industrial robots that must be locked behind safety cages, cobots stop immediately if they bump into a person. They are typically used for repetitive tasks like machine tending, packaging, or assembly, acting as a direct assistant to a human worker.
Heard on the job
Let's set up the cobot to handle the palletizing so the operators can focus on quality control.
Insider tip
You can usually program a cobot by physically grabbing its arm and guiding it through the desired waypoints, a process called hand-guiding.
Also heard as
- collaborative robot
Do not mix it up with
- AMR: A cobot is a stationary or mounted arm working with humans, while an AMR is a mobile platform moving materials.