Denmark's Universal Robots enters India; launches collaborative robot line

Co-bots range touted as lightweight, flexible, compact and versatile

Danish robot manufacturer Universal Robots launched its operations in India on Thursday. Its collaborative robots (co-bots) range, the company said, had already seen application in the Indian auto and auto components sector. While Universal Robots has been selling its robotic products in the country for the past three years, it had set up its sales office in the country in October last year.

The co-bots range is touted as lightweight, flexible, compact and versatile. According to the company, the system can be reprogrammed to perform a myriad of tasks and does not require extensive safety features while working in close proximity to human workers. 
 

Esben Ostergaard, chief technology officer, Universal Robots, said: “Our collaborative robots will help ease out processes in task-driven industries like manufacturing, assembly and food processing. They work alongside humans and optimise and automate time-consuming, repetitive and physically challenging activities in the production flow.” Ostergaard added they had seen users integrate the robotic arm in applications and industries they hadn’t thought of to begin with.
 

According to Pradeep David, general-manager (India), Universal Robots, the approximate cost of a basic unit is around Rs 20 lakh. The collaborative robots range comprises three versions — the 3kg-payload-rated UR3, the 5kg-rated UR5, and the 10kg-rated UR10. Co-bots are said to take less than an hour for the first set-up. 

The robotic arm has a 360-degree rotation and can be floor, ceiling or wall-mounted. Additionally, according to Ostergaard, the co-bots series has seen innovative applications, including bartending, kiosk-based manufacturing, physiotherapy and assisting in neurosurgery. The versatility of the system allows it to even be used in personal robotic kitchens. 

The co-bots are compliant with the ISO standard for collaborative robots and, according to the company, will stop automatically if subjected to a resisting force of at least 50 Newtons. Additionally, the robotic arm can be programmed for specific tasks by floor workers. 

The software for the system had been developed and written by the company itself and is available free of cost on its website. Over 7,000 co-bots have been sold so far, claims Universal Robots. Some of the users of the device include auto majors BMW and Volkswagen. 

While David did not commit to any concrete plans for manufacturing the robots in India, he said the company expected the sales of the device to pick up and adequate demand for the product could lead to indigenous manufacturing.