A Denmark-based maker of a new breed of robots called “collaborative robots” or “cobots” urged manufacturing companies in the country to adopt robotic automation so they will remain competitive and efficient ahead of tough economic times during the post-COVID-19 era.
As market conditions continue to experience volatility and constant disruption, leveraging automation to optimize production is a constant challenge, according to Darrell Adams, Head of Southeast Asia & Oceania of Universal Robots, a part of Teradyne, Inc. and based in Odense, Denmark.
By using “cobots,” known to bridge the gap between fully-manual assembly and fully-automated manufacturing lines, it could improve productivity in the Philippines’ manufacturing sector by as high as 30 percent.
Cobots are now the fastest-growing segment of industrial automation, with annual revenue for cobot arms expected to reach US$11.8 billion by 2030, up from USD1.9 billion in 2018, according to ABI Research, a top technology research firm.
He said that as the Philippines gears up for a national infrastructure building and improvement program, it will invariably include automation and AI (artificial intelligence or machine learning).
Adams explained that cobots are perfect partners to the country’s workforce as they will co-exist with operators and service maintenance engineers, allaying fears about automation replacing people.
“Cobots fit snugly into the Philippine market as it enables humans and robots to share tasks along a production line. With the assistance of cobots, local manufacturers can achieve higher levels of efficiency and rapid productivity gains.”
He explained that cobots can be easily reprogrammed to solve new tasks and meet short-term production challenges faced by companies, and can also be adjusted to handle more advanced processing in smaller batch sizes. The adoption of cobots can help expand the sector’s contribution to the economy and boost innovation and capacity, particularly for Small and Medium Enterprises or SMEs.
The country’s manufacturing industry remains to be a key growth economic driver where it accounts for almost a quarter of the country’s GDP. However, Adams noted that the average automation levels among local manufacturing companies are still low. Adopting automation, he said, can potentially raise productivity and GDP growth in the Philippines to help generate higher incomes for workers, increase market opportunities for companies, and pave the way for a globally competitive manufacturing industry.
He noted that companies that went the automation route have increased production by as much as 300 percent, reduced defects by 90 percent and raised profits by 20 percent. Currently, Universal Robots targets key industries such as electronics, automotive, semiconductor, food & beverage, furniture and consumer products.
“We believe that tomorrow’s workplaces will be run by highly-skilled workers and assisted by intelligent devices. Cobots help automate and streamline repetitive and potentially unsafe processes thus, ensuring a safe work environment while increasing productivity and efficiency,” said Adams.
Universal Robots’ 7 models of simple, flexible and affordable collaborative robot arms – the UR3, UR5, UR10 from the CB3 series and UR3e, UR5e, UR10e and UR 16e from the e-Series, are named after their payloads in kilos. Flexible ±360 degree rotation of all joints also allows usage in confined spaces. These cobots can be floor, ceiling, and wall mounted as required and instead of using skilled programmers, cobots come with a tablet-sized touch screen user interface to guide the robot arm by indicating movements on the screen
To show Philippine companies how cobots work, Universal Robots announced the holding of Asia-Pacific’s first and largest collaborative robots virtual expo called “WeAreCOBOTS APAC,” to be held from October 6-8 2020 from 10 am to 6:30 pm daily.
The virtual expo is especially geared for SMBs and will also allow practitioners and local factory owners to meet with automation industry leaders and cobot experts from different countries online, and even download digital brochures. Participants can attend cobot demonstrations by exhibitors, listen to industry experts on overcoming manufacturing challenges in Asia-Pacific, and find answers on cobot applications during the live Q&A sessions. Registration is free, just go to https://wearecobots.apac.vfairs.com/
Among the speakers include Dr. Yeong Che Fai, director of DF Automation & Robotics, associate professor in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, robotics visionary and inventor, and a winner of more than 50 national and international awards, and Amar Burud, senior manager in industrial engineering of Continental Corporation in India.
The expo program will also feature presentations and “live” demonstrations on cobot maintenance and programming, and the many new ways that cobots are quickly being deployed to address the COVID-19 crisis, including area disinfection and the manufacturing of test kits. Participants can learn how cobots address challenges in productivity, quality, machine usage, and safe distancing from small businesses to large production facilities.