First pneumatic cobot heralds new era of human-robot collaboration
13 May 2022
What if there were a robot that was easy to use, didn't need a safety fence and was also attractively priced? That would be a whole new era in human-robot collaboration. This new era is now dawning – with the world's first pneumatic robot from Festo.
Hardly any other industrial market segment will grow as rapidly in the next few years as human-robot collaboration. Cobots relieve employees of particularly exhausting or monotonous tasks: This gives them new freedom: their work becomes easier and healthier. No other technology is as sensitive to human-robot collaboration as it is to flexible pneumatics.
Advantages thanks to pneumatics
The Festo Cobot owes many of its advantages, such as its sensitivity, its weight or its price/performance ratio, to the advantages of pneumatics: the direct drives in the joints are cheaper and particularly light because, in contrast to electrical solutions, no heavy gears and expensive power Moment sensors are required.
Economical option – also for small and medium-sized companies
The Festo Cobot also makes it economical for small and medium-sized companies, which are often characterised by manual work processes, to use cobots. This is achieved thanks to flexible application options: even small batch sizes or work steps can now be processed automatically. Due to its uniquely intuitive and simple commissioning and programming, the training period is quick and efficient – no complex training measures are necessary.
The pneumatic Festo Cobot will be cheaper than electric cobots in this class. It will have an attractive price/performance ratio in its primary area of application, handling small parts with payloads of up to 3kg. "When sales start in 2023, the Festo Cobot will set new standards in human-robot collaboration with its ease of use," explains Dr Frank Melzer, Director of Product and Technology Management at Festo.
Easy to use and flexible to use
The Festo Cobot consists of the hardware itself, a hand module and the Robotic Suite, software for intuitive commissioning and programming. This package makes it possible to get the cobot up and running in less than an hour.
Previous knowledge in the field of robotics is not necessary, because the self-explanatory software "Robotic Suite" contains clearly visualised and standardised function blocks. Pneumatic drives allow the robot arm to be guided easily and without resistance by hand in order to teach waypoints or paths quickly and precisely.
For small and medium-sized companies in particular, cobots are only attractive if they can take on a new task pragmatically and quickly and are not only intended for permanent use. The Festo Cobot meets this requirement: it does not require an additional control cabinet that is difficult to connect and is a hindrance. With its space-saving integrated control in its own foot section, it is particularly flexible. Simple plug-in connections also enable ad hoc use without lengthy changeover times. With common bus standards, a fast connection to higher-level controls is possible. In addition, it requires less space.
Thanks to state-of-the-art lightweight construction methods, the Festo Cobot weighs only 17kg – so it can be used at another location quickly and flexibly.
Safe and faster work
Like a human arm, the Festo Cobot has just the right reach of 670mm to be perceived as a helping third hand in teamwork with the employee. Like a real colleague, he moves within a manageable radius. Thanks to the flexibility of the pneumatic drives, the cobot acts sensitively – at a speed appropriate to the situation, in fluid, harmonious movements. When touched, it is as soft as human contact.
The cobot's pneumatic direct drives and its low weight reduce its contact energy. Christian Tarragona, Head of Robotics at Festo, concludes: "Thanks to precise pressure regulators in the joints, the robot recognises when it is touched and reacts with the appropriate safety functions." The employee can cooperate with his prudent technical colleague without any risk.
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