Who Will Lead the Future Battle of "Heavy-Duty" Collaborative Robots?

Collaborative robots, known for their lightweight and high flexibility, have traditionally been utilized by customers for low payload tasks. Consequently, the adoption of collaborative robots in low to medium payload scenarios has experienced remarkable growth in recent years.

However, as the use of collaborative robots continues to expand, they are now transitioning from low to medium payload applications towards heavy-duty operations.

On one hand, customers are increasingly seeking higher payload collaborative robots to replace manual labor or traditional industrial robots in complex and safety-critical environments.

On the other hand, intense competition from SCARA robots and small six-axis industrial robots has compelled collaborative robot manufacturers to explore new application scenarios, with heavy-duty capabilities emerging as their new strategic focus.

During a survey conducted by Gao Gong Robotics, Fashe Li, General Manager of Siasun Robotics, highlighted that the shift from low to medium payload towards heavy-duty applications is primarily driven by market demand. Furthermore, collaborative robot manufacturers have made significant advancements in mechanism design, algorithms, and the entire supply chain, laying a solid foundation for the emergence of heavy-duty collaborative robots.

Why "Heavy-Duty"?

Collaborative robots are undergoing a transformation, aligning their performance with industrial standards and driving the trend towards "industrial collaboration" and "collaborative industrialization."

Industry experts widely agree that the future growth of collaborative robots lies in the industrial sector. As a result, leading market players are actively seeking opportunities for industrial expansion, resulting in a wide range of application scenarios across industries such as 3C, automotive, semiconductor, metal processing, healthcare, new retail, logistics, and more.

However, as manufacturers venture into new territories, they encounter various challenges. The primary concern is the impact of increased payload on the performance of collaborative robots, affecting their efficiency and stability. To ensure the safety of both humans and machines, collaborative robots with heavy-duty capabilities are designed to operate at lower speeds.

According to Fashe Li, General Manager of Siasun Robotics, safety is a crucial aspect to consider. In the event of a collision between the robot and a person or other equipment, collaborative robots employ a passive safety response mechanism based on force perception, immediately halting their operation. Furthermore, collaborative robots have evolved from being isolated industrial machines to products that facilitate human-robot interaction. Heavy-duty collaborative robots leverage multimodal sensors to actively perceive their environment, enabling proactive safety responses.

The increase in payload not only impacts safety but also presents challenges such as robot vibration and precision. When designing heavy-duty collaborative robot products, manufacturers must adopt a holistic optimization approach and ensure comprehensive performance through software and control algorithms.

As collaborative robot manufacturers ventured into the development of high-load collaborative robot products, they faced a crucial challenge - finding the right balance between increasing payload capacity and expanding the robot's reach, considering the inherent rigidity limitations of collaborative robots.

Fashe Li, an industry expert, highlighted two key factors to consider. Firstly, as the robot's reach extends, the load on its joints increases, demanding greater output power and torque. Secondly, the longer reach poses significant challenges in terms of stiffness and deformation in the lightweight design of collaborative robots. Moreover, the increased reach introduces flexibility, which adds complexity to robot control and impacts overall performance.

However, practical scenarios often require not only high-load capabilities but also longer reach. For instance, in palletizing applications, handling large-sized boxes with standard collaborative robots that have limited reach and deployment capabilities presents challenges. The solution lies in high-load collaborative robots with extended reach, effectively addressing these issues.

Fortunately, technological advancements have broadened the payload range of collaborative robots, evolving from 3kg to 25kg. The reach has also significantly increased, expanding from 618mm to 2000mm. This progress has effectively resolved the "survival dilemma" between payload and reach, leading to the widespread adoption of high-load collaborative robots across various applications.

Forging a Path of Differentiation: The Journey of High-Load Products

When examining the collaborative robot market, it becomes evident that most players initially focused on medium-light load products during their early establishment. However, as technology advanced and market demands evolved, their attention gradually shifted towards high-load products.

In contrast, SIASUN Robotics took a distinct path. They embarked on their journey by prioritizing high-load products, catering to specific customer needs, and gradually transitioning to medium-light load products, thereby carving out a unique path of differentiation.

Reflecting on the company's history, Fashe Li recalls that as early as 2017, SIASUN Robotics recognized the demand for high-load collaborative robots. In the semiconductor industry, they observed that carriers used for chip post-processing weighed over 15kg, necessitating robots with sufficient payload capacity and safety features.

Driven by this demand, SIASUN Robotics commenced their research and development of high-load collaborative robots in 2017. By 2018, they successfully achieved mass production of their 20kg high-load collaborative robot, followed by a continuous introduction of 14kg load capacity products. In 2022, with the growing need for heavy material handling in palletizing scenarios, they embarked on the development of a 25kg load capacity product. Finally, in February 2023, SIASUN Robotics unveiled their 25kg load capacity product to the market.

Siasun Robotics has recently launched the GCR25-1800, the largest member of the DUCO Cobot G series, with an impressive working radius of 1800mm. Since its release, this product has gained significant attention within the industry.

One of the notable features of the GCR25-1800 is its weight. With a highly integrated modular design, it not only reduces research and development costs but also minimizes the weight of the main body. Weighing only 61kg, it is nearly 10% lighter than other 20kg load products.

According to Fashe Li, an analyst, the reduced weight of the main body ensures safe human-robot collaboration with low inertia, facilitates easy deployment, and ensures high energy efficiency. This is why many collaborative robot manufacturers strive for a high load-to-weight ratio.

The GCR25-1800 is capable of gripping 25kg objects and has a long arm reach of 1800mm, making it ideal for heavy material handling, palletizing, and other applications. It is equipped with a brand-new control cabinet, which is 30% smaller than the original one, providing the GCR25 with high flexibility and making it more suitable for narrow spaces.

Fashe Li explains that when developing high-load collaborative robots, Siasun Robotics prioritizes global optimization design to achieve multiple design goals, including workspace, operation cycle, and lightweight design. The design of integrated joints is crucial, as it needs to meet functional design requirements and performance indicators such as heat dissipation, electromagnetic interference, protection level, vibration, assembly process, and maintainability. This requires considering the synergy of the industrial chain during the design process.

To achieve lightweight and integration, Siasun Robotics has incorporated key technologies such as comprehensive mechanism design, electronic and electrical integration, electromechanical control integration, communication design, and thermal design. They have established models for motor vector control, closed-loop control, electromagnetic simulation, joint dynamics, and thermodynamic dynamics, achieving a maximum driving power of up to 3000W.

In terms of operation cycle, the GCR25-1800 improves the cycle time by 20% compared to a 20kg load collaborative robot, with a repeat positioning accuracy of ±0.05mm. Additionally, the GCR25-1800's operating software is loaded with the latest version of the DUCO CORE operating system, which integrates functions such as visual control, enhancing the human-robot interaction experience.

Fashe Li reveals that the GCR25-1800 has already found wide applications in palletizing and heavy material handling scenarios.

SIASUN Robotics has recently unveiled its latest achievement in the field of core technology and global optimization design - the comprehensive DUCO Cobot matrix. This matrix offers a wide range of options, covering payloads from 25kg to 3kg and arm lengths ranging from 2000mm to 618mm. With such versatility, these cobots can be seamlessly integrated into various industries including automotive, energy, semiconductor, 3C, food and pharmaceuticals, education, and research. This extensive selection empowers customers with a broader range of product choices and enables more precise cost control, leading to enhanced efficiency and maximized benefits.

Is the Era of Large-Scale Implementation on the Horizon?

The lightweight design of collaborative robots enhances safety and simplifies deployment compared to industrial robots. Collaborative robots can be seamlessly integrated into existing production lines without the need for a complete restructuring, unlike traditional industrial robots. In the event of a malfunction, collaborative robots can be quickly replaced on-site with another unit, minimizing deployment and debugging costs. Furthermore, collaborative robots can be combined with autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) to expand their application boundaries and overcome the limitations of being fixed in one place.

The emergence of collaborative robots has eliminated the barriers to human-robot collaboration in traditional industrial settings, effectively meeting the automation needs of the manufacturing industry.

With the increasing number of players in the collaborative robot market, the industry has transitioned from disorder to order, entering a new phase of development.

According to Fashe Li, collaborative robots are still in the climbing stage compared to the development of industrial robots. He believes that collaborative robots have not yet reached the stage of large-scale implementation.

To accelerate the development of collaborative robots, Fashe Li suggests focusing on two dimensions: price and scenarios. While the current price of collaborative robots is relatively low, future products may differentiate and vary in price according to different scenarios. The downward trend in prices will likely expand or stimulate the emergence of new scenarios. Additionally, the advancement of collaborative robot intelligence will further expand the range of scenarios in which they can be used, extending beyond industrial settings to commercial, new civil, and household domains.

According to the GGII, it is estimated that the sales volume of collaborative robots in China will exceed 100,000 units by 2026, with a market size surpassing 10 billion yuan.

GGII predicts that with technological advancements and declining product prices, the acceptance of collaborative robots will increase, leading to more manufacturers achieving mass production applications and intensifying market competition.

Fashe Li emphasizes that the focus in the collaborative robot market has shifted from product offerings to scenario exploration, indicating that the competition has entered the second half.

Moving forward, Siasun Robotics aims to enhance its competitiveness by delving deeper into scenarios and refining products to achieve a higher level of compatibility with scenario requirements. They also plan to seize opportunities for international expansion and accelerate the development of overseas markets. Siasun has already established subsidiaries in Europe and Southeast Asia.

Fashe Li states that Siasun not only aims to sell overseas but also strives for localization and globalization in collaboration with local partners. This approach allows them to better respond to the needs of overseas customers and accelerate the promotion of Siasun's overseas market.