Workers of the world, relax: robotics encourage creativity

In a presentation to preview April’s Hannover Fair, the president of Universal Robots,  a Danish company which makes industrial robotic arms, reflected on the global volatility and proposed that cobots (collaborative robots) could create more jobs as humans will be needed for the flexibility that robots cannot offer and to react quickly to changing circumstances.  “Technology is an enabler for human empowerment, “ he declared.  “In times of change and uncertainty, flexibility does not come from the robot. . . The best consultant is the one that has been one the production line for 10, 15 years, give them the tools and they will bring flexibility and creativity,” he urged.

Today, companies have to take opportunities and “machine learning is an opportunity,” said Von Hollen.  . He believes, putting a human at the core of the production process is the key to adding flexibility and creativity. As long as a robot is easy to use, it is nothing but a tool for a person to retool or reuse for another activity, he maintained.

The company wants to encourage industry to look at new opportunities and use cobots where they have not been used before, in hospitality for example as well as in industry. It is particularly targeting SMEs, trying to introduce them to the benefits of robotic automation.  “The smaller the company, the more flexible it has to be – it doesn’t have five years to see a return on investment for any technology”.

It has an ecosystem. Universal Robots Plus, consisting of nearly 400 companies developing supporting products, such as sensors and software, to enable robotic development.

“We can’t control what is happening globally but we can control the investments we make. . . I believe we are just starting to scratch the surface [of cobots],” he concluded.