Information briefs for the week check out what’s occurring with cobots on the Worldwide Robotic Exhibition 2023 in Tokyo, known as merely IREX. The convergence of cobots with genAI is constant briskly. Many cobots, the vital ones (over 30 specialised cobot producers are sporting almost 125 cobot fashions) at the moment are racing to amass genAI capabilities. IREX was an ideal occasion to showcase one of the best and to see what has occurred up to now.
Cobots showcase “new-age” tech at IREX
The just lately concluded IREX Worldwide Robotic Exhibition 2023 (Tokyo) 29 November to 2 December 2023, with over 600 exhibitors and 120,000 guests—reportedly bigger than each Munich’s AUTOMATICA and Detroit’s Automate—proved to be an ideal world showcase for cobots’ new-age applied sciences.
Developed or new-age cobots have been on show from Techman, Dobot, Elite, UR, AUBO, and extra.
Introduced simply previous to the doorways opening was a first-ever advertising and marketing and gross sales effort directed solely at SMEs (Small to Medium Enterprises) by the Robotic Industrial Fundamental Know-how Collaborative Innovation Partnership or ROBOCIP. ROBOCIP, a bunch together with main Japanese robotics and automation corporations, “introduced that it’s making a first-ever joint database to facilitate the introduction of robots and cobots to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).”
Japan wants new enterprise in a rush! Japanese robotic makers are feeling aggressive warmth from throughout the Sea of Japan. “The worldwide 
market share of Japanese robotic producers has declined from 70 p.c at its peak to about 40 p.c on account of the rise of Chinese language opponents.”
Then too, perhaps the just lately introduced initiative additionally directed at SMEs by the Softbank/ Symbotic Inexperienced Field three way partnership was the impetus for ROBOCIP. Inexperienced Field will deal with the greater than $500 billion annual “warehouse-as-a-service market,” particularly concentrating on the broader buyer universe of SMEs.
Additionally, with the huge China Trade Robotic Exhibition (CIRE) upcoming in Tianjin from 6 to 9 March 2024, ROBOCIP had the 4 days of IREX to make a case for itself within the media with each potential consumers and sellers of Japanese robots and cobots.
With Japan’s largest robotic vendor, FANUC, taking its first monetary decline in 4 years, FANUC’s web revenue for the July to September interval fell 20 p.c to round $222 million.
“The slowdown in China’s economic system is reducing into the income of Japanese corporations like FANUC. Amongst 17 Japanese corporations with important gross sales in China, 12 noticed web revenue decline within the July to September quarter.”
Within the U.S., the “sluggish US economic system and high-interest charges are being blamed for a 37 p.c drop within the variety of industrial robots ordered in North America from April to July 2023, in comparison with the identical interval in 2022.”
A latest Stanford College report exhibiting that 77 p.c of all robotic and cobot gross sales go to simply 5 states (all within the automaker belt) have seemingly tanked together with sluggish auto gross sales. With the low-hanging fruit from automaker gross sales drying up, some robotic and cobot distributors are lastly trying to SMEs to fill their order books.
With Japan’s 3.58 million SMEs making up 99.7 p.c of Japan’s corporations, ROBOCIP will make a concerted effort to draw them to robot-driven automation, which is way wanted stories a latest authorities white paper. Amongst Japan’s tens of millions of SMEs low productiveness hampers the financial progress of the nation, cites the paper.
The same examine directed on the U.S. and carried out by MIT’s Susanne Berger discovered an identical low productiveness fee amongst SMEs in U.S. manufacturing.
In each Japan and the U.S. the treatment for SME low productiveness was apparent: automation. For Japan, the introduction of ROBOCIP is thus very well timed.
Notable cobots at IREX
The winds of genAI (generative synthetic intelligence) are racing by the robotics business, and each tradeshow appears to bear witness to the ocean change going down in robots and cobots. The brand new tech is not only fancy equipment for robots and cobots, they’re must-haves to compete, to be extra productive, and to succeed at digital automation.
Tokyo’s IREX was an ideal alternative for distributors to placed on show how they’ve converged their robotic and cobot strains with new-age know-how. Techman (Taiwan), Dobot (China), Elite (China), Common Robotic (Denmark), AUBO (China), and extra confirmed up. All of which inserts completely with the IREX present theme: “Sustainable Society Introduced by Robotics”.
Techman, is an apt instance of how the cobot business has been trending for the reason that introduction of the genAI period. Going ahead, a cobot can’t be only a easy cobot any longer. Rather more is anticipated of them, which is a well timed evolution of cobot capabilities anyway.
Techman, a subsidiary of Taiwan’s Quanta, adopted others in getting beefier with a 25kg payload and 1,902 mm attain, but additionally brainier, with its TM AI Cobot S Sequence throughout industrial functions (discover the AI within the product title). Techman has teamed up with NVIDIA’s Isaac Sim to simulate, check and optimize its cobots as digital twins whereas utilizing NVIDIA AI and GPUs for coaching. Plus, utilizing NVIDIA’s Metropolis imaginative and prescient AI framework, Techman is now enabled for AOI (automated optical inspection). Even on guardian Quanta’s 
personal electronics meeting strains, Techman with AOI is ideal for optimizing inspection workflows. Inspecting merchandise starting from auto components to circuit boards, the Techman’s imaginative and prescient AI can shortly determine defects.
So, whether or not carefully inspecting electronics, tending a CNC machine, choosing from blended items to type and pack, or palletizing something from 3kg to 25kg, new-age cobots are versatile and good sufficient to do virtually any job. Expectations for cobots are sky excessive, and if they can not carry out, they’re gone! Cobots can’t simply lounge round any longer unchanged. At this time they’re on a high-tech treadmill that’s ramping up the convenience and pace of getting issues achieved in a rush.
See NVIDIA video beneath for have a look at new-age cobots at work.
As a part of the pattern to get extra brawn into its cobots Dobot showcased its newly-launched CRA collection, which includes 7 robotic fashions with payloads from 3 kg to twenty kg and dealing radii from 620 mm to 1,700 mm. For instance, Dobot had its new CR20A palletizing answer with 20 kg payload and 1700 mm attain on show.
On the brainier facet of issues was AMMR (Autonomous Cellular Manipulator Robotic), “able to unrestricted mobility and integrating 
SLAM, laser navigation, and human-machine interplay for transportation and pick-and-place, that includes precision navigation, proactive security measures, and easy-to-use software program for protected collaborations.” Dobot mentioned that the CRA collection redefines cobots and opens up new paths within the areas of industrial quality sorting, packaging, and welding in industries reminiscent of automotive, family home equipment, logistics, and metalworking.”
Because the Boston Consulting Group has forecast, from right here to 2030, robots and cobots shall be outlined by mobility and intelligence…and form the long run.
China’s cobot JAKA was in residence with a show of versatility. JAKA had 20 of its cobots internet hosting at 20 vendor producer cubicles. The 20 crimson and silver cobots have been troublesome to overlook within the sea of robots on the present ground.
AUBO, one other Chinese language cobot vendor, toted alongside its IP68 cobot exhibiting its submersed capabilities. Repeatedly dunking its head underwater on the AUBO sales space, the IP68 rated cobot can stay submerged for as much as half-hour in 1.5 meters of water. Seemingly, there’s a way forward for underwater work forward. Much more of a future for work in rivers and harbors if AUBO can lengthen its capabilities.
Cobot gross sales chief, Common Robots (UR), arguably the cobot that began the whole cobot business, didn’t miss IREX. UR’s contribution to the four-day celebration was its brawny boys, the 20kg and 30kg machines, persevering with the latest pattern to essentially large cobots.
Solely cobots brawnier than UR’s are FANUC’s newly revamped CR-35iB with a payload of 35kg or 50kg.
With IREX placing on its mega tradeshow each two years, we’ll have to attend for 2025 to see if a 100kg cobot has joined the cobot crowd. At 100kg can it nonetheless be known as a cobot?