Small cobots - low range and low cost
Readers of this blog usually require a reach of at least 50 cm and a payload that often starts at 3 kg. The market leader in these criteria and of course absolutely suitable for industrial use is the Universal Robots UR 3. With a reach of 50 cm, it carries the aforementioned 3 kg. However, it costs a hefty €22,700, as a look at Unchained Robotics shows. The advantage of this cobot is that it is very compact and therefore any workstation is also compact. For those without space problems, there are of course larger cobots that are sometimes less expensive. One example is the Franka Emika, which also has a payload of 3 kg but a reach of 855 mm and can be easily programmed using preconfigured apps.
AucLabs are calling for cobots
Cobots seem to be slowly making their way into laboratories. A market segment that many do not even have on their radar. Franka Emika is working at Roche in Penzberg. (Roche alone has 5,000 employees at this location between Munich and Garmisch). The rather large Sawyer from Rethink Robotics uses its size in a first automated hospital laboratory of the Asklepsios clinics.
Cobots for the site table
If you want to place cobots on a table without blocking a walkway, for example, you need smaller models. Best known in the industry is the Cobotta from Denso, which, however, costs €15,000 and more. Its reach is only 342 mm, its payload 0.5 kg. In return, it also weighs only 4 kg and can hardly release any dangerous energy when it comes into contact with humans. The Cobotta is used, for example, by the Hamburg-based startup bAhead. The startup develops solutions for laboratory automation including drone transport and, by the way, is open to investors. Of course, with semi-regular use and the required precision, the normally priced cobots are quickly amortized, as usual.
"Cheap cobots"
However, there are also applications with infrequent use and lower requirements for repeatability. Here, the question quickly arises whether it should not also be cheaper. As you know, I run the blog in addition to my job as CEO of the startup VisCheck. We developed the first software that can read screens, purely visually. Now we have the case that a cobot should operate the screen keyboard of a large machine. I.e. the machine is loaded by a large cobot, but in addition a small one is to operate the keyboard. However, this is only rarely the case. It is obvious that a Cobotta would be underchallenged here and actually also looks too clean for a production. Therefore, I have looked around and can report.
Different look
If you are used to cobots by design, you have to be flexible. Below are videos, before that a comparative table. The number of freedom lines is especially important here. For our task mentioned above - screen-keyboard operation - full mobility must be given with a smaller range.
| Model | Niryo Ned 2 | DOBOT MG400 | Elephant Robot MyCobot 320 | UFACTORY Lite 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country | France | China | China | China |
| Price approx. | 3.500 € | 2.975 € | 2.500 € | 2.000 € |
| Line of freedom | 7 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| Reach mm | 440 | 440 | 300 | 440 |
| Load capacity g | 300 | 750 | 3.000 | 3.000 |
| Info e.g. | https://niryo.com/ned2/ | https://variobotic.de/shop/dobot-mg400/ | https://shop.elephantrobotics.com/collections/mycobot-pro/products/mycobot-pro-raspberry-pi | https://www.ufactory.cc/pages/ufactory-lite-6-the-most-affordable-and-compact-6-axis-collaborative-robot-arm |
An article about the Niryo appeared on Elektroniknet the other day. Its technology seems to have proven itself just like that of the Dobot. The predecessor model of the Niryo Ned2 has been sold around 1,300 times since 2017. The model presented here is now to be used in the industrial sector - perhaps as a small competitor to the very successful, high-precision, fast, but also quite expensive Mecademic.
The aforementioned Dobot MG 400 takes a leap of faith, having been sold by Variobotic for years.
Elephant Robot advertises quite lively via newsletter, has an up-to-date, good website, but according to my knowledge no references in Germany yet:
The Ufactory was raised on Kickstarter only a few months ago. It is also impossible to judge how mature it is. There are also other models from the company:
Vowever, are we networking? LinkedIn
-> To the Cobot group on LinkedIn(Link)
In my own account/advertisement
The author of this blog is significantly involved in the AI/robotics project Opdra. He advises robotics companies and investors on market analysis and funding/subsidies. More about him can be found here
