What is a cobot (collaborative robot)?
A cobot is an industrial robot arm designed to work safely near people, usually by limiting force and power, and to be easy to program without specialist engineers.
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Definition
A collaborative robot (cobot) is a robot arm built to work alongside humans, typically "force- and power-limited," with simple programming via a teach pendant or no-code tools.
Why it matters
Cobots brought automation to small and mid-size manufacturers. Adding dexterous hands and AI is the next step.
Frequently asked questions
How is a cobot different from a traditional industrial robot?
Traditional robots are fast and powerful and work behind fences. Cobots are force- and power-limited so they can share space with people after a risk assessment.
Who makes cobots?
Universal Robots (100,000+ sold), plus companies such as JAKA, Elite Robots and RobCo.
What are cobots used for?
Machine tending, packaging, screwdriving, inspection, welding and lab automation.
Coverage
Teradyne and Elite Robots settle cobot software dispute; JAKA case continues
Universal Robots' parent and Chinese cobot maker Elite Robots ended their German copyright case with undisclosed terms and no admission of liability. A separate patent suit against JAKA is ongoing.
Agility's Digit 5 is built to work next to people — no fences
Agility Robotics' fifth-generation humanoid adds human detection and an independent safety controller, backed by $300M+ in conditional orders; early access in H1 2027.
RobCo hits a $1B+ valuation in a $40M share sale
The Munich-founded industrial robotics startup doubled its valuation since January in a deal mostly made of employee share sales, backed by Sequoia, Lightspeed and others, as it expands in the U.S.
Teradyne invests in Bright Machines to robotize AI infra manufacturing
On Oct 5, 2026 Teradyne announced a strategic investment and collaboration with Bright Machines to combine UR cobots, board test and software-defined microfactories for AI data-center hardware.
Hitachi and FANUC team up on shop-floor Physical AI; customer rollout from FY2027
The Japanese giants will validate Physical AI inside Hitachi factories — picking, shape-varying parts, changeovers — then sell jointly from fiscal 2027, as industrial vendors race to productize the buzzword.
PSYONIC's touch-sensing Ability Hand now plugs into Universal Robots' Gen 7 cobots
PSYONIC and Universal Robots integrated the six-motor, 30-sensor Ability Hand with UR's new g-Series arms and PolyScope X, programmable from the teach pendant.
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