Collaborative robots, as the name suggests, are robots and humans working together on a production line, fully utilizing human intelligence and robot efficiency. This type of robot is safe, convenient, and has a high personality ratio, which can greatly promote the development of manufacturing enterprises. Collaborative robots have eliminated obstacles to human-machine cooperation, and as a new type of industrial robot, they have freed robots from the constraints of guardrails or cages. Their groundbreaking product performance and wide range of applications have opened up a new era of industrial robot development.

The future smart factory requires robots to collaborate with humans, created by the harmonious coexistence of humans and machines, to complete different tasks together with humans. This not only includes completing traditional tasks that people cannot do, do not want to do, and cannot do well, but also complex tasks that can improve the quality of human life and reduce human labor intensity. Therefore, collaborative robots can be regarded as an essential attribute of new industrial robots.

The main characteristics of collaborative robots are: 1. Lightweight. Make robots easier to control and improve safety. 2. Friendly. Ensure that the surface and joints of the robot are smooth and flat, without sharp corners or gaps that could easily injure the operator. 3. Perception. Perceive the surrounding environment and change one's actions according to changes in the environment. 4. Human machine cooperation. It has sensitive force feedback characteristics and will stop immediately when the set force is reached. After risk assessment, there is no need to install protective fences, and humans and robots can work together. 5. Programming is simple. For some ordinary operators and those without technical background, programming and debugging are very easy.

Collaborative robots have brought fundamental changes to the industrial production and manufacturing of future factories, with decisive and important advantages: 1. High flexibility in the production process. 2. Undertake manual processes that were previously non ergonomic and unable to be automated, reducing the burden on employees. 3. Reduce the risk of injury and infection, such as using special human-machine cooperative claws. 4. No need to invest based on type or workpiece, complete repeatable processes with high quality. 5. Adopting a built-in sensing system to improve productivity and equipment complexity. Based on the advantages of human-machine collaboration, more flexible collaborative robots have become a feasible solution for undertaking assembly and extraction work. It can fully leverage the strengths of both humans and robots, enabling robots to better collaborate with workers and adapt to a wider range of work challenges.

In the era of manufacturing transformation and upgrading, collaborative robots will become increasingly integrated into our work and life. The human-machine cooperation mode of people, equipment, and machines working together can improve enterprise efficiency, strengthen quality control, enhance production flexibility, reduce logistics line costs, and make manufacturing enterprises closer to the market. It is a supporting equipment for intelligent manufacturing, and human-machine cooperation will become the essential feature of the next generation of robots.