Industry 5.0 is here, here’s what you need to know about it
written by Masayuki Mase, Country Manager for Universal Robots Oceania
Industry 5.0 is taking off faster than we could have imagined and while to some it’s still a buzzword, many are now reaping its true benefits.
In fact, Universal Robots predicts that the natural adoption of Industry 5.0 will continue to accelerate for the foreseeable future.
As the original collaborative robot manufacturer of the first cobots in the world, Universal Robots have seen the evolution of cobots and people working together, and the increased interest and uptake in automating mundane and dangerous tasks, firsthand.
Today, Industry 5.0 is benefiting from a lot of ‘groundwork’ that its predecessor Industry 4.0 has done to date. The term ‘Industry 4.0’ first came to light more than a decade ago and the uptake was rather slow. However, many years later, we are benefiting from a wealth of knowledge, industry insights, enhanced systems, and tangible results, and this has largely paved the way for Industry 5.0.
Shaping our new work reality
Industry 5.0 is a term used to describe people working alongside robots (collaborative robots, fondly dubbed cobots) and smart machines.
Industry 5.0 has also been a catalyst in attracting young talent to the manufacturing sector.
While in the past large robots were deployed to work in cages, employees are now presented with the unique opportunity to work alongside robots. This has reignited interest by the younger generations in the industry and has made the production floor an exciting place to be again.
Another key draw card is centred around accessibility and ease-of-use. Of course, there is still a misconception that anyone dealing with robots need to come from a robotics background, but this is simply not the case.
A free online training session from UR Academy spans 90-minutes and will ensure that individuals with no prior robotics background is able to unbox and perform simple material transfer applications in a matter of hours. Thanks to its small footprint and safety features, with the appropriate risk assessment in place, cobots can fit into an existing workspace and process quickly and easily.
Deploy and redeploy
Interestingly, the initial resistance in the uptake of robotics stems from both the initial cost outlay and potential disruption to the factory floor: neither of which should be of concern.
One of the biggest advantages of a cobot is that they can be redeployed to another location to take on a range of different applications – with minimal planning and costs. Thanks to their small footprint, flexibility, and versatility, cobots can be used across an array of applications on the factory floor. They can also be fitted with a wide range of end effectors to match various applications. This strong value proposition is one of the main reasons manufacturers find collaborative automation to be so attractive.
Cobots also aid businesses in achieving critical goals such as making the working environment safer, increasing productivity, overall equipment effectiveness and ultimately increasing profits.
Universal Robots to showcase technologies at Modern Manufacturing Expo
About Universal Robots
Universal Robots aims to empower change in the way work is done using its leading-edge robotics platform.
Since introducing the world’s first commercially viable collaborative robot (cobot) in 2008, UR has developed a product portfolio including the UR3e, UR5e, UR10e, UR16e and UR20, reflecting a range of reaches and payloads.
Each model is supported by a wide selection of end-effectors, software, accessories and application kits in the UR+ ecosystem. This allows the cobots to be used across a wide range of industries and means that they can be redeployed across diverse tasks.
The company, which is part of Teradyne Inc., is headquartered in Odense, Denmark, and has offices in the USA, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Czech Republic, Romania, Turkey, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Mexico.
Universal Robots has installed over 50,000 cobots worldwide. For more information, please visit www.universal-robots.com.