5. A study of four sectors 35 Box 5: Cobots in industrial environments Interviewee #9 raised an important issue; when a cobot, which may otherwise be deemed unsafe, is applied to a Some examples of cobot use in industry include: dangerous process in a way that could reduce the overall risk. For example, a worker tending a hazardous - ABB’s YuMi, a collaborative dual-arm small-parts machine could trap and lose a finger. The process is assembly robot that works alongside humans on made safer by deploying a cobot to tend the machine, ABB’s socket lid assembly line handling springs, thereby saving the worker’s finger. However, the robot child locks and child lock covers. ABB has also could collide with the worker and cause a lesser injury. announced that they will build an advanced In this instance the overall risk is reduced, but the robotics factory in Shanghai, using YuMi and company may delay or add further safeguarding and other automated machines in safe proximity to reduce productivity to mitigate the new risk the cobot humans to produce other robots (Moon, 2018). brings. According to Interviewee #9, health and safety - Adidas has opened two “Speedfactories” in staff have suggested that in such cases the cobot Bavaria and in Atlanta, where both traditional should be deployed as overall safety is improved. robots and cobots are used. The time to However, their industrial partners have been cautious, manufacture a shoe is reduced from 60 days to citing concerns over litigation for deploying an unsafe six days (Wiener, 2017). robot. - In one of the largest international implementations, Foxconn in 2016 reportedly By becoming a key part of a factory’s cyber-physical installed 40,000 robots replacing 60,000 workers environment, cobots will lead to less waste throughout (Fingas, 2016) and in February 2018 it was the supply chain and increased production capabilities. planning to invest US$4 billion into robotics and As manufacturing at scale grows, unit costs will fall, and developing automation (Francis, 2018b). alternative leasing models will be deployed. Further examples of cobots working alongside humans exist in welding (Universal Robots, 2017) and coating (Universal Robots, 2019). In fact, almost all of the application areas for traditional robots outlined by Nof 20 years ago (Nof, 1999). Taking control: robots and risk