Danish
Ambassador to India Peter Taksoe-Jensen launched Universal Robots, the Danish
robot manufacturer that pioneered collaborative robots, in New Delhi. The
collaborative robots range was unveiled in a launch event by Esben Ostergaard,
Chief Technology Officer of Universal Robots, along with Pradeep David, General
Manager, India.
Human-robot
collaboration has come of age with collaborative robots (also called co-bots)
designed to work with humans and assist them with a variety of tasks. Co-bots
help automate and streamline repetitive
and potentially unsafe processes thus, ensuring safe work environment while
increasing productivity
and efficiency. Given these advantages, small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) are eager to
adopt this technology. In a human-machine study conducted by MIT researchers at
a BMW factory, it
was shown that teams made of humans and robots collaborating efficiently can be
around 85% more productive than teams made of either humans or robots alone.
Also, the cooperative process reduced human idle time by virtue of its pace-setting
ability.
With the goal
of making robot technology accessible for small and medium sized enterprises,
Universal Robots offers simple, flexible and affordable collaborative robot
arms- UR3, UR5 and UR10 named after their payloads in kilos. Having sold over
7000 collaborative robots, and ranked #25 on MIT Technology Review’s 2015 list
of the 50 Smartest Companies, Universal Robots continues to revolutionise the
way industrial robots work and operate alongside workers. Workers can
collaborate with the robots in close proximity on assembly lines with no safety
guarding (subject to application risk assessments) The co-bots are easy to
program and the first set up takes less than one hour. They can also be moved
easily around the production facility for multiple applications. Flexible ±360
degree rotation of all joints allows usage in confined spaces. Infinite
rotation of the UR3 tool is possible for screwing and drilling applications.
The co-bots can be floor, ceiling, and wall mounted as required.
Speaking
about the launch, Esben Ostergaard said, “We are delighted to introduce our
advanced tools to the Indian market for increasing productivity, quality, and
market competitiveness. Our collaborative robots help ease out processes in
task driven industries like manufacturing, assembly and food processing. They
work alongside their human co-workers to optimize and automate time consuming,
repetitive and physically challenging activities in the production flow. We
have also seen end users integrate our robot arms in applications and
industries that we didn’t initially expect. They have differentiated themselves
in the market using our advanced tools innovatively. Universal Robots are being
used with innovative applications like Neurosurgery, Bartending, Kiosk-based
manufacturing, Physiotherapy, Aviaries, and even as Chef’s assistants.”
“Advanced
robotics is now accessible to anybody who wants to increase productivity while
maintaining high safety standards. Our smallest collaborative robot is world’s
most flexible, light weight, table top robot that has been embraced worldwide
especially in the electronics and metal industries. We are growing our channel
partner strength in all major locations of the country and will continue to
expand our network in the coming years.” said Pradeep David, General Manager of
Universal Robots’ India.
“This is a
proud moment for Denmark as we continue to establish ourselves as a country
that believes in innovation and knowledge export as a way forward in bringing
global communities closer. Universal Robots was named one of Denmark’s 30 most
important export companies and received the Danish award for fast growth at
Digital Gazelle last year. We believe that Universal Robots will enable our
interest of supporting growth in various sectors of India with their world
leading technology.” said Peter Taksoe-Jensen, Danish ambassador to India.
Source: Universal Robots