Collaborative Robotics Centre opened

27/9 2018

A new Collaborative Robotics Centre has been opened at the Moravian-Silesian Innovation Centre (MSIC) in Ostrava, in cooperation with the Moravian-Silesian Automotive Cluster. The new centre will act as a magnet for know-how in this rapidly emerging field; it will enable all companies from the Region to test and pilot their collaborative robotics technologies prior to full implementation.

Collaborative Robotics Centre opened

The testing facilities will bring substantial benefits to companies introducing robotized production technologies, allowing them to perfect their new processes off-site and thus minimize down-time when switching over from current processes to the new robotic technologies.

Three types of collaborative robots (cobots) will be available at the centre, each offering a different level of collaborativity. A Fanuc cobot can lift and handle heavy objects (up to 35 kg), a Universal Robots cobot can lift objects weighing up to 10 kg, and a small YuMi robot with two arms (made by ABB) can lift 2 x 250 g.

The MSIC offers an ideal location for the new Collaborative Robotics Centre, as it is an independent institution which is not influenced by the individual interests of cobot manufacturers or the companies which use the centre. The knowledge gained at the centre's testing facilities will be shared, available to all users developing innovative processes. The centre will also collaborate with the nearby VŠB-Technical University of Ostrava on a project focusing on research and development of special end-effectors and other components of cobots.