Elite Robot: Fast growing Asian cobot manufacturer
"The performance of affordable cobots will not go up, and those with excellent performance will not go down in price."
Elite Robot founder and CEO Dr. Cao Yunan
Hanover Fair
A highlight of the Hannover Messe was the live presentation of Elite Robot. Instead of a video, the quite young executives presented themselves in a hall (photo: screenshot). In the hall, many of their own cobots are obviously being tested. There were also short videos of interesting real-world case studies and what is feasible but not necessarily wanted. (In one video, a cobot piloted an excavator.) Both the presence at Hannover Messe and the recent opening of a U.S. office show Elite Robot's global ambitions. Financing should not be a problem: At the end of April, the company was able to raise another $31 million.
140 employees, 60 of them in R&D
As can be seen from the company presentation and other sources, the company, which was founded in 2017, is a spin-off from a university. With the aim of buying as few components as possible and instead developing as many Cobot components as possible itself, 99 patents have been registered to date. Of the 140 employees, 60 work in development. 90% of the R&D employees have master's degrees.
EC series as a solid start
After entering the market with three six-axle models of the "EC" series and payloads of 3/6/12 kg, the "CS" series is currently being introduced. About 1,000 units of the "EC" series are expected to have been sold in 2020, mainly in China. Thanks to suitable accessories from companies such as Robotiq, OnRobot, Sick and others, customers such as Continental, Nissan, KFC and Foxconn have already been won with these cobots, primarily in China. There seems to be some focus on the automotive sector. The video shows a case study from the area of screws: A nut is taken out of an anyfeeder and turned onto a screw:
For the popular topic of machine loading, there is a video with a more complex solution that shows how easily the reach of cobots can be increased. The related vacuum gripper should be a helpful special solution:
CS series - numerous options with good equipment
While the "C" stands for Cobot, the "S" stands for Safe, Simple, Superior, Sustainable and Scalable. The "CS" series focuses on the safety of employees. This is ensured by 18 safety functions. In addition to the hardware improvements, the software for the CS Series cobots has also been extensively updated. ELITE uses a new type of lightweight teach panel with a wide screen that supports touchscreen control for more direct operation.
The "CS" series starts at a payload of 3 kg with a reach of 624 mm at a repeatability of 0.02 mm. In addition, there is a medium model with 6 kg payload (914 mm reach). The top model carries 12 kg with a reach of 1304 mm and a repeatability of 0.05 mm. The type designation in each case is composed of the number of the line of freedom (i.e. 6) and the payload. Thus, there are CS 63, CS 66 and CS 612. All cobots have IP 54 and tolerate between 5 and 50 degrees.
Elite Robot already has manufacturing capacity of 5,000 units/year. This indicates that the company intends to serve global markets.
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The author of this blog is significantly involved in the AI/ robotics project Boost-Bot. He advises robotics companies and investors on market (entry)/business development and funding/subsidies. The standard book on cobots is also written by Guido Bruch.
