ABB Robotics aims to combine the flexibility of cobots with higher payloads and performance through the launch of its PoWa cobot family.

“Cobots are growing significantly faster than traditional industrial robots, driven by demands from both small and midsized companies starting their automation journey as well as large enterprises,” says Andrea Cassoni, head of collaborative robots at ABB Robotics. “These customers are seeking higher speeds and payloads, but also greater ease of use and compact designs. Established manufacturers want to automate heavier, fast cycle applications without the complexity and operational rigidity of traditional industrial robots. We are meeting these needs with the global launch of our high-speed PoWa cobot family – a name that symbolizes its powerful, industrial-grade performance in a compact collaborative robot form.”

The new PoWa family aims to address a gap in the market between traditional cobots that may lack the speed and payload required for industrial applications and conventional industrial robots, which are designed for highly specialized, large-scale automation environments, going beyond the needs of many collaborative tasks.

PoWa extends ABB Robotics’ cobot offer with industrial-grade performance including six different payload categories, from 7 kg to 30 kg, the longest reach and highest arm load on the market, and top speed of up to 5.8 m/s.

Purpose-built for compact environments and ideally suited for applications such as high-speed machine tending, palletizing, screwdriving and arcwelding, PoWa enables manufacturers to automate heavier and faster processes, while maintaining the flexibility, ease of use and compact footprint of collaborative robotics. 

PoWa cobots feature programmable buttons on the arm-side interface and no-code programming. They are compatible with an ecosystem of third-party accessories. PoWa can be unboxed and operational within an hour and enables seamless plug-and-play with a range of tools, blending industrial-grade connectivity and performance with collaborative robot flexibility.

Powered by the ABB OmniCore controller platform, PoWa cobots can be integrated with ABB Robotics’ expanding suite of AI-powered software, including Robot Studio and Wizard Easy Programming, enabling intuitive programming, fast deployment and maximum uptime.