Cobots to grow exponentially in the very near future

Leading cobot luminaries, Mr Jürgen von Hollen, President of Universal Robots, Mr James McKew, Regional Director of APAC, Universal Robots, and Dr Che Fai Yeong, Director of DF Automation and Robotics and Associate Professor at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, expounded industry insights and answered important questions from industry practitioners and attendees online, with visionary and practical insights on post-pandemic manufacturing, and how manufacturers in Asia-Pacific can be future-ready.

Collaborative Robots leaders and practitioners connected online to share insights on future-proofing manufacturing in Asia-Pacific

Covid-19 and challenges

The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 exacerbated existing challenges and exposed new vulnerabilities for manufacturers around the world. The serious disruption to supply chains, sudden material shortages, and steep swings in demand left manufacturers grappling with changes. Labour-intensive manufacturing has been hit painfully by the regional governments' Covid-19 measures of extended lockdowns and social distancing. But such measures present an opportunity for labour-centric manufacturers to rethink their operations, on ways to keep production going while adhering to regulatory measures, without sacrificing cost efficiency, and to future-proof operations for more resilience. The event converged the luminaries and attendees with a lively exchange of ideas and recommendations.

“In Asia-Pacific, business owners and operators have to juggle costs, value creation, and profit. In some locales where real estate is costly, such as Singapore and other metropolitan cities, cobots can be a tremendous help in maximising floor space with human operators and cobots working in tandem to achieve the highest levels of production while adhering to physical distancing guidelines,” said James McKew, Regional Director of APAC, Universal Robots.

Surmounting challenges with innovation

Cobots have been the perfect nimble tool for many innovative applications throughout the world, and especially in an emerging ASEAN markets where the adoption rates of cobots and other industrial robots have been steadily outpacing the established Western markets. This is especially since Universal Robots' cobots do not require professional engineers or software developers to utilise the cobots, anyone with an ability to operating a simple graphical tablet will be able to command and control such cobots after some basic training. For example, cobots have found their way into medical applications because of the Covid-19 crisis, with applications such as swab testing, sterilisation, and mobilised disinfection.

“In today's transient and volatile world, it is no longer possible to readily or easily forecast forward trends. It is therefore critical for any company to be flexible and agile. Businesses and leaders have to leverage on the best available technologies, such as cobots, to empower innovative applications for businesses to adjust dynamically to situations and crises, and to adapt existing infrastructures to address organisational and customers' needs,” said Jürgen von Hollen, President, Universal Robots.

“We foresee cobots to grow exponentially in the very near future in our ASEAN region, especially in the small and medium businesses segment. Covid-19 has accelerated the adoption of cobots in many industries. I believe Universal Robots to be a pre-eminent leader in steering the development and adoption of cobots in our region to help businesses succeed against obsolescence, especially since their cobots are especially easy to learn and operate," said Dr Yeong. “Meet the Cobot Leaders” is part of “WeAreCobots APAC”, the first collaborative robots virtual expo in Asia Pacific, hosted by Universal Robots. All 15 online keynote sessions, including “Meet the Cobot Leaders” will be on-demand at https://wearecobots.apac.vfairs.com/ from 9 October to 7 November 2020.