ABB announce new generation of industrial robots

Swiss based robotic manufacturer and ATS supplier, ABB is to launch a new generation of industrial robots designed to provide users with more flexibility and a better return on investment.

The new machines, due to be released before 2021, will replace most of ABB’s existing portfolio, and will double the size of the company’s range.  At the recent Automatica exhibition in Germany, ABB announced the new portfolio as well as several other developments, including:

• a new generation of robot controllers with footprints 50% smaller than existing models;
• the world’s first common interface for collaborative robots, developed jointly with Kawasaki;
• a condition monitoring and diagnostics application that uses machine learning to detect behavioural anomalies in robots and offers guidance on predictive maintenance and optimisation;
• the world’s first digitally connected paint atomiser that will allow car-makers to optimise robotic painting in real time, while reducing waste by 75% and compressed air consumption by 25%;
• a single-arm version of its YuMi two-armed collaborative robot (cobot); and
• its SafeMove 2 software which, it claims, can turn any robot into a cobot.