While cobots have been enabling manufacturers to run agile operations and increase performance for more than a decade, today’s cobots are built to do even more - Universal Robots breaks down what users can do to unlock more value from them.

Omron has introduced its new iX3 and iX4 parallel robots, which the company says delivers higher payloads and speeds for faster and more flexible picking and packaging applications.

James McKew, regional director for Universal Robots APAC, says border closures, a lack of human labour, the cost of human labour, and reduced mobility has boosted cobot deployment.

Universal Robots says competition in home entertainment, white goods and other personal electronics is tight and leaves no margin for error, and quality is what will differentiate companies from the pack.

As Foodtech Packtech 2021 gets underway, SMC has created a range of lightweight, compact and energy efficient products, which it will showcase at the food and packaging technology exhibition in Auckland.

Universal Robots has partnered with its OEM, Hirebotics, who has had cloud-connected cobots in play for many years now, to make cloud tools freely available for its entire portfolio of cobots.

Halodi Robotics has partnered with Altopack to co-develop a humanoid robot for refilling consumables, such as plastic and cardboard for packaging machines.

Esko is unveiling a major new release of its Automation Engine workflow solution, which it says is packed with new capabilities, and for the first time it will be available as a Software-as-a-Service.

AutoCoding Systems has been acquired by JBT Corporation, a global technology solutions provider to high-value segments of the food and beverage industry.

Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis finds the global AR/VR market will reach $661.4bn by 2025, at a compound annual rate of 86.3% from 2019 to 2025, driven by contactless commerce.

Sepro Group, represented in Australia by Profile Solutions, has completed a complete redesign of the entire Success range of 5-axis robots for injection-moulding machines.

OnRobot's new VGP20 electric vacuum gripper provides a powerful and versatile solution for challenging palletising scenarios, including heavy, bulky and porous surfaces.

To support the growing demand for collaborative robots (cobots), ABB has expanded its portfolio with the launch of two next-generation cobots to its lineup - the 6-axis GoFa CRB 15000 and the CRB 1100 Swifti.

SMC is part of this year's exhibitor lineup at Foodtech Packtech 2021, showcasing its Smart Steps to Flexible Manufacturing’ campaign.

Teradyne has named Kim Povlsen as the new president of Universal Robots, headquartered in Denmark and effective 1 March.

OnRobot has opened registration for OnRobot Expo – a global, interactive digital robotics event, focused on collaborative automation and applications. It will run online this Thursday.