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At the 2021 Las Vegas Packaging Expo (Las Vegas PACK EXPO), ABB showcased its first fully collaborative robot for pick-and-place applications. Collaborative robots (cobots) were initially used to handle highly repetitive, low-weight tasks such as machine tending, assembly, and smaller packaging operations alongside humans, but over the past few years, the capabilities of collaborative robots (cobots) have continuously improved. These new capabilities enable collaborative robots to perform a wider range of tasks. ABB's new 6-axis GoFa CRB 15000 is one of these new collaborative robots designed to meet the growing demand for cobots that can handle heavier payloads. According to ABB, the GoFa CRB 15000 features "industry-leading 950mm reach and speeds of up to 2.2 meters per second," making it suitable for various packaging applications including pick-and-place, packaging, kitting, and product handling. GoFa's collaborative robot features include intelligent torque and position sensors in each of its six joints/axes. ABB states that these specially designed joints "stop the robot arm within milliseconds upon sensing any unexpected contact between the cobot's arm and a human, eliminating the risk of injury to human workers." GoFa programming is done through ABB's new Wizard programming software, which uses "simple graphical blocks" to simplify the programming process for non-robotics experts. These blocks represent actions such as "move to position," "pick object," and "repeat task" to make the programming process more intuitive.
