5 stages of automation collaboration

There are no collaborative robots, only robots with collaborative applications. That’s according to Simon Whitton, regional division manager of North America for KUKA Robotics Corp., Shelby Township, Michigan.

There are applications where a robot can work safely alongside a person without a barrier and applications where it’s not safe to have someone near an operating robot, he noted. “A robot is simply a robot.”

Even if the robot is considered a collaborative one, the application itself—such as one that involves rapid metalcutting—may not be collaborative. “Our contention is that there are applications that present themselves as being collaborative,” Whitton said. “In other words, people can move in and out of the workspace or actually interact with the robot because the application is safe.”

Stage one of collaboration is the classic robot application where automation activity takes place behind some type of barrier. Image courtesy of Kuka Robotics

He named five stages of collaboration. Stage one is the classic robot application where automation activity takes place behind some type of fence. “The only collaboration that occurs is when somebody opens the door, the robot stops and the person goes to attend to something in the work cell,” Whitton added, estimating that more than 90 percent of robotic applications are stage one.

The second stage is also not designed for human interaction with the robot other than people entering the workspace to retool or remove parts. For example, the robot will slow down or stop depending on the proximity of the person to the robot, but the process can continue if it’s safe to do so. Contact between the human and robot is not desired or required for the application to work. “A little more collaboration but not that much,” he said.