What is a cobot?
A cobot (collaborative robot) is an industrial robot designed to work safely alongside people in a shared workspace, because safety functions continuously monitor its speed, force and position instead of the robot being kept entirely behind a fence. Cobots are part of robotics and are used in industrial automation, smart factories and logistics for repetitive, ergonomically demanding or precise tasks. Within Industry 4.0 they stand for flexible, human-centric automation, combining sensors, real-time control and OT integration.
Typical applications are assembly, pick-and-place, packaging, machine tending (CNC and injection moulding), quality inspection, palletising, welding and logistics support.
🤖 What makes a robot a cobot?
The first commercial cobot, the UR5 from the Danish company Universal Robots, came to market in 2008. Since then almost every major robot maker, including ABB, FANUC, KUKA and Yaskawa, has offered collaborative models. According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), about 66,000 cobots were installed worldwide in 2025, 7% more than a year earlier. That is around 11% of the 603,000 new industrial robots; for the first time the cobot segment grew more slowly than the overall market.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Safe collaboration | Designed for human-machine interaction in a shared space |
| Power and force limiting | Joint sensors detect contact and stop the motion |
| Flexible deployment | Quick to relocate and reprogramme |
| Compact design | Fits small work cells and existing lines |
| Sensor integration | Detection of people, objects and forces |
| User-friendly | Programming via tablet, blocks or hand guiding |
Important: the current standards no longer speak of a “collaborative robot” but of a collaborative application. A cobot holding a knife or welding torch is not automatically safe. Only the combination of robot, tool, workpiece, speed and layout determines whether people can work next to it without guarding.
🛡️ Which safety standards apply to cobots?
Cobots fall under functional safety and machinery safety. The core standards:
| Standard | Subject |
|---|---|
| ISO 10218-1:2025 | Safety requirements for the industrial robot itself (manufacturer) |
| ISO 10218-2:2025 | Safety of the robot application and robot cell (integrator) |
| ISO/TS 15066:2016 | Collaborative applications, including force and pressure limits per body region; its content is incorporated in the 2025 edition of ISO 10218 |
| ISO 12100 | General risk assessment of machinery |
| ISO 13849 | Safety-related control systems, expressed as a Performance Level |
| IEC 62061 | Functional safety of machinery control systems (SIL) |
| IEC 61508 | Basic standard for functional safety |
| ISO 13855 | Positioning of safeguards based on approach speeds |
The revised ISO 10218 parts were published in February 2025, the first major revision since 2011. They expand the functional safety requirements, add cybersecurity and rename the former safety-rated monitored stop to monitored standstill.
The classic four collaborative methods from ISO/TS 15066 remain the frame of reference:
- Monitored standstill - the robot stops safely as soon as someone enters the shared zone and resumes afterwards.
- Hand guiding - the operator moves the robot by hand using a guiding handle with an enabling device.
- Speed and separation monitoring (SSM) - scanners or LiDAR measure the distance; the robot slows down and stops before contact is possible.
- Power and force limiting (PFL) - contact is allowed, but force and pressure stay below biomechanical limit values.
👷 How do people and cobots work together?
The IFR distinguishes four levels of collaboration. They describe the way of working, not the safety method:
| Level | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Coexistence | Human and robot work side by side without a shared workspace | Cobot tends a machine while the operator packs next to it |
| Sequential collaboration | Both use the same space, but in turn | Robot places a part, operator then assembles it |
| Cooperation | Simultaneous work on the same workpiece | Robot holds a part while the operator drives screws |
| Responsive collaboration | The robot responds in real time to the human’s movements | Robot adapts its path to the operator’s hand |
In practice, coexistence and sequential collaboration are by far the most common. True simultaneous collaboration requires the strictest validation.
⚙️ How is a cobot built?
The technical architecture of a cobot consists of several integrated subsystems:
| Component | Function |
|---|---|
| Robot arm (usually 6 axes) | Mechanical motion |
| Embedded controller | Motion planning and local control on an RTOS |
| Servo motors with encoders | Precise position and speed control |
| Torque and force sensors | Contact detection per joint or at the wrist |
| Safety controller | Dual-channel monitoring of speed, position and force |
| Vision systems | Object recognition and position correction |
| HMI or teach pendant | Programming and operation |
Typical values for common arms: a payload of roughly 3 to 35 kg, a reach of 500 to just over 1,700 mm and a repeatability of a few hundredths of a millimetre. During manual teaching a reduced speed of at most 250 mm/s applies. For PFL applications ISO/TS 15066 gives limit values for 29 body regions, where brief (transient) contact may reach higher values than clamping (quasi-static) contact.
Cobots often combine several sensors: force, torque and position sensors, cameras, LiDAR and ultrasonic sensors. Motion control works together with the safety controller for collision detection and path planning.
🏭 How do you integrate a cobot into the OT environment?
A cobot rarely stands alone. It talks to the line control and higher-level systems:
| System | Function |
|---|---|
| PLC | Process control and handshakes with the cell |
| Safety PLC / Safety Relay | Emergency stop, door switches and zone switching |
| SCADA | Monitoring and visualisation |
| MES | Orders, recipes and production tracking |
| OPC UA | Standardised data exchange (an OPC UA Companion Specification for robotics exists) |
| MQTT | Telemetry to edge and cloud |
At field level cobots use Industrial Ethernet protocols such as ProfiNET, Ethernet IP and Modbus TCP, with safe variants such as PROFIsafe and CIP Safety for safety signals. They communicate with conveyors, AGVs and AMRs and so become part of wider Cyber-Physical Systems. The OT network must deliver low latency and limited jitter for real-time control; safety laser scanners and light curtains guard the zones around the cell.
Within Industrial AI, AI, Machine Learning and Vision AI increasingly find their way into cobot cells, for example for bin picking of unsorted parts. A Digital Twin helps to simulate the cell in advance and determine cycle times.
🔐 What cybersecurity risks do cobots face?
Cobots are attractive targets because they directly affect physical processes and people. Cybersecurity and safety overlap here: anyone who can change a safety configuration can raise force or speed limits.
| Risk | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Unauthorised access | Manipulation of motions or programs |
| Unsecured management ports | Starting or stopping programs without authentication |
| Malware | Production disruption |
| Firmware attacks | Takeover of the controller |
| Supply chain risks | Compromised plug-ins or software |
A well-known example is the Universal Robots dashboard interface on TCP port 29999, which allows programs to be loaded and started over the network. Newer software versions offer settings to disable or restrict such interfaces.
Recommended security measures, in line with IEC 62443:
| Measure | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Network Segmentation | Robot cells in their own zone with a conduit |
| Zero Trust | No implicit trust within the OT network |
| MFA | Protection of management and remote access |
| Application Whitelisting | Only approved software and plug-ins |
| IDS | Detection of anomalous network traffic |
| Patch Management | Controlled firmware updates |
| Logging | Audit trail of changes to program and safety configuration |
| Secure Boot | Load only signed firmware |
🧱 What does this mean in the Netherlands and the EU?
A bare robot arm is partly completed machinery supplied with a declaration of incorporation. The integrator who turns it into a complete application becomes the manufacturer: they carry out the risk assessment according to ISO 12100, compile the technical file and affix the CE marking. A step-by-step approach:
- Task analysis - which actions does the robot perform, which the human, and where do they overlap?
- Risk assessment - including tool and workpiece; sharp or hot parts often rule out PFL.
- Choose the method - monitored standstill, hand guiding, SSM, PFL or a fence after all.
- Safety configuration - set the limit values and demonstrate the required PL of each safety function.
- Validation - measure force and pressure with a measuring device at the critical contact points.
- Lock-down - record the safety configuration with a checksum and change management.
For the employer, a cobot falls under the Dutch Arbowet (Working Conditions Act) and belongs in the RI&E risk inventory. From 20 January 2027 the Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 replaces the Machinery Directive. The regulation requires protection against contact risks and psychological stress to be adapted to people and machines sharing a space or interacting, sets separate requirements for safety components with self-evolving (AI) behaviour and requires protection against corruption, in other words cybersecurity of safety functions. A substantial modification, including in software, can make you the manufacturer. In addition, a network-connected cobot falls under the Cyber Resilience Act: reporting obligations from 11 September 2026, full application from 11 December 2027.
🔄 What is the difference between a cobot and an industrial robot?
| Property | Cobot | Traditional industrial robot |
|---|---|---|
| Working with people | Yes, after risk assessment | Only with guarding or zone monitoring |
| Safety fences | Often not needed, depending on the application | Usually mandatory |
| Ease of programming | High (tablet, hand guiding) | More complex, often specialist |
| Payload | Usually up to about 35 kg | Up to hundreds of kilograms |
| Speed | Lower in collaborative mode | Higher |
| Use | High-mix, small batches | High volumes, short cycle times |
📈 What are the benefits and challenges?
Benefits:
- Flexibility - quick to change over for product changes and small batches.
- Ergonomics - lifting and repetitive work shift from people to the robot.
- Low threshold - operators learn to programme simple tasks themselves.
- Compact integration - fits into existing lines and supports LEAN and Smart Industry.
Challenges:
| Challenge | Description |
|---|---|
| Safety validation | Force and pressure measurements and documentation take time |
| Cybersecurity | More connectivity enlarges the attack surface |
| Limited payload and speed | Less suitable for heavy or very fast tasks |
| Integration | Linking with legacy systems and existing control |
| Cost | The arm is relatively cheap, but grippers, integration and validation add up |
❓ Frequently asked questions
Does a cobot never need a safety fence?
A cobot only needs no fence when the risk assessment shows that the whole application is safe. Tools such as knives, welding torches or sharp workpieces quickly make contact unacceptable. In those cases a cobot also gets guarding or zone monitoring.
Which standard defines the force limits for cobots?
The biomechanical force and pressure limits for cobots are set out in ISO/TS 15066 and were incorporated into ISO 10218-2 in 2025. They give limit values per body region for brief and clamping contact. In practice, the integrator measures whether the cobot application stays below those values.
Who is responsible for the CE marking of a cobot application?
The integrator or user who assembles the robot arm into a complete application is responsible for the CE marking. The robot manufacturer supplies the arm as partly completed machinery with a declaration of incorporation. The integrator produces the risk assessment, the technical file and the EU declaration of conformity.
How much can a cobot lift?
Common cobots have a payload of roughly 3 to 35 kg, including the gripper. Heavier models exist, but the higher the payload, the harder it is to stay within the force and pressure limits. For heavy palletising tasks a cobot is therefore often combined with zone monitoring.
Are cobots vulnerable to cyberattacks?
A cobot is as vulnerable as any other network-connected OT device, but the consequences are directly physical. Unsecured management interfaces and altered safety configurations are the biggest risks. Segmentation according to IEC 62443, strong authentication and change management on the safety configuration reduce that risk.
What is the difference between a cobot and an AMR?
A cobot is a robot arm that performs tasks in collaboration with people, while an AMR is an autonomous mobile platform for internal transport. The two can be combined into a mobile manipulator that drives to machines by itself. Such a combination must meet both the robot standards and the requirements for mobile machinery.
📌 In summary
A cobot is an industrial robot that works safely with people through monitored speed, force and position, but the application determines whether that is truly possible without guarding. ISO 10218:2025 and ISO/TS 15066 form the technical basis, while the Machinery Regulation and the Cyber Resilience Act turn safety and cybersecurity into a single task for integrators and users from 2027.