Prioritize User Safety

The tech industry features new and established companies vying to release products as fast as possible to achieve marketplace traction faster than competitors. Because cobots work so close to humans, designers cannot sacrifice safety in favor of a rapid product launch. They must consider small but impactful factors, such as the robot's speed and its reaction when colliding with a person, object or structure.

Design teams also consider how to protect people from a machine's moving parts, such as by eliminating pinch points. One example of safety-related innovation occurred when two well-known robotics companies collaborated to build a pioneering product called an end-of-arm safeguard.

It performs what industry experts call speed and separation monitoring, continually responding to humans nearby and their positions relative to the robot. This feature prevents instances where people may need to get underneath one of a cobot's main components or perform tasks that risk their hands and fingers getting stuck in the high-speed pneumatic actuators. Built-in laser-beam sensors register feedback by detecting interference from nearby humans. They then tell the robot to stop, preventing potential accidents.

Similarly, designers should follow cybersecurity best practices to limit the potential for adversaries to hack into systems and steal data or use the cobots to access other parts of a company's infrastructure. Making the software easy to update is a best practice because adversaries often look for outdated versions to exploit common vulnerabilities. In any case, design teams should simultaneously explore cybersecurity and safety features so that even if a bad actor can infiltrate a cobot, they cannot cause it to operate dangerously.

Encourage Worker Trust With Capability Restrictions

Workers will be more likely to embrace cobots if they believe the machines are safe and helpful. However, these technologies must also perform reliably. According to a 2023 study of 240 participants, people never fully trust robots after the products make three mistakes.

The researchers concluded that the machines need more effective ways to restore trustworthiness, but they also must master new tasks before attempting to make things right. This finding matters from a design perspective because it reminds professionals not to become overly ambitious when planning a robot's capabilities and associated applications.

In the experiment, the team had programmed the robots to take one of several possible actions after making an error — apologizing, denying, explaining or promising to become more trustworthy. They clarified, for example, that even if a robot could improve and adapt after making a mistake, humans may not give those opportunities.

The researchers also explored several potential implications that could impact how companies deploy collaborative robots. Based on the experiment’s findings, executives may lose confidence that the machines will have the initially expected return on investment. Frustrated workers may also try to work around or bypass a robot's features due to mistrust. Besides possibly causing unintended technological responses, these decisions risk employees’ jobs, especially if they manipulate the machines in ways that might endanger themselves or others.

Designing collaborative robots requires determining how to program the machines to perform clearly defined tasks without frequent errors. That approach should reduce mistakes, enhancing worker trust and boosting positive results throughout industrial environments.

Emphasize Designing Collaborative Robots for Specific Environments

Experts can conquer many challenges in cobot design by putting themselves in the position of potential cobot purchasers and users. Success requires assessing the characteristics and requirements of specific common operating settings. For example, DC motors have become standard components in industrial equipment because of their demand-responsive performance and speed controls, which support production settings.

The specific products manufactured in facilities that utilize cobots also matter, especially in highly regulated industries. Designers must make cobots easy to clean if they are designed for the food or pharmaceutical industries, which both have stringent quality control processes to maintain product hygiene.

Building a robot to work in tight spaces is another frequently encountered challenge, especially with many customers using these products and diverse environments, including settings with other industrial equipment already installed. Some designers have dealt with this issue by creating modular tabletop workstations for cobot arms. Users can then switch to various types depending on whether the factory environment contains Computer Numerical Control machines, conveyor belts, deburring equipment or other specialized equipment.

Professionals in the health care industry have also become interested in using robotic technologies. These include options that assist surgeons working on delicate body parts or even designs worn by people with physical disabilities during therapy sessions.

Ill, injured or unconscious people face above-average threats if cobots malfunction. Implementing components such as force limiters prevents adverse consequences by making mechanisms stop or reverse if they encounter resistance. It then becomes much less likely that the cobots might harm users, especially if medical practitioners can also halt a cobot's operation in emergencies.

Get Feedback From the Target Audience

Evaluating individual factors from users' standpoints is among the most effective ways to tackle challenges in cobot design. Design team professionals should prioritize the obstacles that limit a cobot's perceived or actual value for the largest number of potential clients to get meaningful results.

Taking a more granular approach also works well, especially when people have seen cobots in action and become interested in applying them to specific workplaces or tasks. One example involved a catering management team from a Scottish university seeing a barista cobot during a study tour at Stanford University.

They became excited about implementing a similar version back on their campus and collaborated with numerous colleagues and students to build one that supported employees in customer-facing roles. The participants designed it to complement these workers rather than replace them, especially by handling the most repetitive and physically demanding tasks. People could then spend more of their time serving customers.

Feedback from those most affected by a robotics integration becomes essential in a case like this. Even the most conscientious designers may overlook some of the biggest concerns faced by those parties until they speak to them directly. Those expected to work with new cobots will also appreciate when designers ask for feedback. Giving that input makes them feel included in the process rather than forced to use a cobot without prior consultation.

Expect Challenges in Cobot Design

Dealing with unexpected difficulties is an inevitable part of design, even when professionals carefully assess potential pitfalls and discuss proactive management options. Rather than seeing these obstacles as overwhelming occurrences, team members should maintain a positive attitude and relish the opportunity to think creatively and develop meaningful solutions.