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What Cobots Can Do for Your Business What Cobots Can Do for Your Business

A COBOT IS A COLLABORATIVE ROBOT — ONE THAT WORKS ALONGSIDE 

HUMANS TO COMPLEMENT AND AUGMENT HUMAN CAPABILITIES. 

HOW MANY INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS AND COBOTS ARE SOLD? 

The number of industrial 

robots sold will grow from 

381K in 2017 to 630K in 

2021, which represents 

over 13% annual growth.1 2025 

CURRENT 

Cobot share of industrial robot Cobot global market 2018-2025: 

sales now: 3% >50% compound annual 

In 2025: 34% 2 growth rate 3 

In 2017, 5 countries represented 

73% of total global industrial robot supply. 

China has the leading market share, supplying 

36% of the market with 

growth of 58% in 2017.4 

WHERE ARE COBOTS USED IN 

A MANUFACTURING FACILITY? 

WHAT INDUSTRIES USE 

INDUSTRIAL ROBOTS NOW? 

COBOTS AND 

WORKERS TEAM 

UP FOR: 

Accuracy 

Flexibility 

Speed 

Strength 

Cobot 

TASKS & DRILLS 

Human 

THOUGHTS & SKILLS 

Repetitive 

Monotonous 

Dangerous 

Error-prone 

TASKS COBOTS DO: 

Amplify human strengths 

Be a free-standing/moving machine 

Be an exoskeleton 

Customize 

COBOTS CAN: 

Dexterity 

Creativity 

Reasoning 

Critical Thinking 

SKILLS HUMANS BRING: 

HUMANS CAN: 

Ensure cobot condition 

Ensure worker safety 

Train (including 

reprogramming) 

Assembly 

Loading/unloading 

Monotonous, repetitive, and/or 

dangerous tasks 

Packaging finished goods 

Palletizing 

Picking/placing 

Tool application (screwing, 

bolting, drilling, gluing, welding) 

(2017 annual supply, thousands of units) 

Automotive (126) 

Electrical/electronics (121) 

Metal (45) 

Plastic and chemical products (21) 

Food and beverages (10) 

Other and Unspecified (58) 

WHY INVEST IN COBOTS? 

Achieve consistency in quality and quantity Increase response time to consumer needs 

Boost production output Meet market demand for customization 

Fill employment gaps during upswings Meet shortage of skilled manufacturing workers 

(seasonal requirements) Realize productivity gains 

Grow manufacturing capability Reduce operating costs 

Cobots IN ACTION 

At Kay Manufacturing in Illinois, a Hyundai's cobots are exoskeletons At Ford, cobots lift and position 

cobot visually inspects automotive that, worn by industrial workers, give heavy parts of cars, protecting the 

parts; its rotating arm allows an them much-enhanced endurance and health of employees and helping 

attached camera to spot any defects. strength.6 them get more jobs done, more 

Cobots allowed the company to grow, quickly.7 

and it has hired more employees.5 

Visit: https://www.nist.gov/mep/mep-national-network Call: 1-800-MEP-4MFG 

(1) International Federation of Robotics, World Robotics 2018 (2) Robotic Industries Association, citing Loup Ventures report (3) Markets and 

Markets: "Collaborative Robot Market by Payload Capacity, Industry, Application, and Geography — Global Forecast to 2025" (4) 

International Federation of Robotics, World Robotics 2018 (5) https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-cobots-manufac 

turing-replace-human-workers-20181010-story.html (6) https://hbr.org/2018/07/collaborative-intelligence-humans-and-ai-are-joining-forces 

(7) https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/08/29/the-future-of-work-are-you-ready-for-smart-cobots/#78bd9631522b