Entering Universal Robots: Unveiling the Past and Present of Collaborative Robots

Universal Robots was born in Odense, Denmark. In 2003, the Danish government carried out a scientific research project, which required a study on the feasibility of robots replacing humans in some tasks. Esben Østergaard, a PhD in robotics and a researcher at the University of Southern Denmark, conducted this research. Firstly, the key feature of collaborative robots is safety. Installing and deploying them in a limited space, and enabling them to provide various types of assistance like human assistants is a huge challenge. Secondly, there is a high cost of introduction. The vast majority of the driving force of the motors on the robotic arm is used to overcome its own gravity. By optimizing the design to reduce the mass of the robotic body while ensuring stiffness, not only can the performance be improved, but also the power consumption can be reduced.

The installation and deployment of industrial robots are rather cumbersome. Due to their heavy weight, forklifts are needed to install them in appropriate locations during installation, and 地脚螺栓 (foundation bolts) are also required to fix them at the bottom. Compared with the requirements of industrial robots for external space and hardware, small - sized collaborative robots like those of Universal Robots have significantly lowered the usage threshold.
Small - sized collaborative robots have taken a transformative step in the design and programming of motion execution. The teach pendant equipped on the robot is quite similar to an iPad. More than 90% of the programming work can be completed through the teach pendant. The interface of the teach board is completely graphical and modular. Anyone who can use a smartphone can operate the teach pendant. Its graphical interface covers any direction in 360 degrees. The position of the TCT (Tool Center Point) of the robot can also be moved in the up, down, left, and right directions. If the free - drive mode is selected, the robot can be dragged along with the operator's hand.
The original intention of designing collaborative robots was to make them tools similar to wrenches, pliers, and screwdrivers for everyone to use. Using tools means they should have some tool - like characteristics, such as portability, easy repositioning, and easy application change. Therefore, during the design phase, the robot was defined to be more lightweight, more flexible, and easier to operate.

In the door waterproof groove gluing workshop of the BMW X3 factory in the United States, due to the high requirements for maintaining the continuity and temporal consistency of the gluing process, collaborative robots equipped with professional sensors are used to ensure uniform gluing of the body's waterproof grooves. Whether it is the Golf or the Passat, they all embody the wisdom of the people at Universal Robots.
Universal Robots' robots are now widely used in the medical industry, including neurosurgery, orthopedics, dentistry, medical manufacturing, etc. They are also extensively applied in fields such as force - controlled precision assembly, logistics, and 3D vision.