ABB launches next-generation cobots
ABB has announced the expansion of its collaborative robot (cobot) portfolio with the new GoFa and SWIFTI cobot families, which offer higher payloads and speeds to complement YuMi and Single Arm YuMi in ABB’s cobot line-up.
The launch of these new cobots aims to accelerate the company’s expansion in high-growth segments, including electronics, healthcare, consumer goods, logistics and food and beverage, meeting the growing demand for automation across multiple industries.
GoFa and SWIFTI have been designed to be intuitive, so customers do not need to rely on in-house programming specialists. This is a move intended to unlock industries with low levels of automation, with customers able to operate their cobot within minutes of installation, straight out of the box, with no specialised training.
“Our new cobot portfolio is the most diverse on the market, offering the potential to transform workplaces and help our customers achieve new levels of operational performance and growth”, said Sami Atiya, President of ABB’s Robotics & Discrete Automation Business Area. “They are easy to use and configure and backed by our global network of on-call, on-line service experts to ensure that businesses of all sizes and new sectors of the economy, far beyond manufacturing, can embrace robots for the first time.”
In a global survey, carried out in January 2021, of 1650 large and small businesses in Europe, the US and China, 84% of companies said they would introduce or increase the use of robotics and automation in the next decade. At the same time, 85% said the pandemic had been “game-changing” for their business and industry, with COVID-19 a catalyst for accelerating investment in automation. Nearly half of businesses (43%) said they were looking to robotics to improve workplace health and safety, 51% said robotics could enhance social distancing, and more than one-third (36%) were considering using robotic automation to improve the quality of work for their employees. More immediately, 78% of company CEOs and Managing Directors said recruiting and retaining staff for repetitive and ergonomically challenging jobs is challenging.
