Global robotics landscape · Family 02
Collaborative robots
How to evaluate shared-workspace automation without confusing a collaborative-capable arm with a safe collaborative application.
FUURAA thesis
Collaboration is a risk-assessed operating mode of a complete application—not a sticker on the robot.
How to use this page
Move from what it is to how to judge it—without being misled by one specification or demo.
Separate embodiment, sensing, control, tooling and operations.
Open in-depth topic →02WorkRead value through the complete task and environment, not movement alone.
Open in-depth topic →03EvidenceTest claims with repeatable metrics, failures and human intervention.
Open in-depth topic →04BoundaryKeep standards, regulation, site and research-stage limits visible.
Open in-depth topic →System anatomy
A working robot is the result of several engineering layers holding together.
Each layer explains its job and the signal most worth verifying next.
Power and force limiting
The system limits contact energy through mechanics, sensing and control, subject to the tool and body region involved.
Open in-depth topic →02Speed and separation monitoring
Safety-rated sensing slows or stops motion as a person approaches the defined protective space.
Open in-depth topic →03Hand guiding and safe stop
Hand-guided teaching and monitored stops can reduce programming friction while keeping energy states controlled.
Open in-depth topic →04Application engineering
Fixtures, grippers, product edges, pedestrian flow and operator instructions determine the real collaborative envelope.
Open in-depth topic →Real-work map
Form factor is an entry point; the complete workflow is the unit of value.
These are not capability guarantees; they frame the task boundaries and evidence a reader should seek.
Assisted assembly
The robot handles repeatable positioning while people retain judgement, dexterity or exception handling.
Open in-depth topic →02Low-volume tending
Compact cells can suit variable production when setup and changeover are deliberately simplified.
Open in-depth topic →03Quality and laboratory work
Controlled handling, measurement and sample workflows can benefit from traceability and bounded interaction.
Open in-depth topic →04Mobile manipulation
Putting an arm on a mobile base expands reach but couples navigation, docking, stability and two safety regimes.
Open in-depth topic →Evaluation checklist
Five questions turn product claims into testable deployment judgements.
Procurement, replication, pilot design and policy review should record success, failure and human cost together.
- 01
Risk-reduction mode
Name the collaborative method used for every phase, including foreseeable faults and recovery.
Open in-depth topic → - 02
Contact assessment
Measure forces, pressures, transient contacts and clamping risks with the final tool and workpiece.
Open in-depth topic → - 03
Human factors
Test predictability, visibility, workload, restart expectations and the operator's ability to intervene safely.
Open in-depth topic → - 04
Throughput under sharing
Count protective slowdowns and stops; headline robot speed may not describe shared-workspace output.
Open in-depth topic → - 05
Change control
Define who approves changes to tools, payloads, speed, safety zones and software.
Open in-depth topic →
Scope boundaries
Make explicit what is unknown and what cannot be generalised.
- 01
A cobot can still require guarding when the process, tool, load or cycle creates unacceptable risk.
Open in-depth topic → - 02
A safe-speed function does not establish safe separation unless the sensing system and stopping performance are validated together.
Open in-depth topic → - 03
Ease of programming is an operational benefit, not safety evidence.
Open in-depth topic →
Sources and evidence status
Return to the original record before deciding how far a conclusion can travel.
Each source carries a publication or review date, evidence status and the conclusion it cannot support alone.
ISO/TS 15066:2016 — Collaborative robots
Supplements ISO 10218 with safety requirements for collaborative industrial robot systems and work environments.
ISO 10218-1:2025 — Safety requirements for industrial robots
Defines safety requirements for the robot as partly completed machinery; integration and application risks sit with the complete cell under Part 2.