For good reasons, robots have been kept behind safety fences as they perform jobs that are potentially dangerous and back-breaking to humans. Whether it’s spray painting, slicing animal carcasses or stacking 1.5-liter cases of water bottles on pallets, these robotic applications are typically fenced to protect workers from getting knocked in the head by a robot doing its job, being hit by product dropped from the robot’s grippers or entering a dangerous environment.
Today, some robots are becoming “un-caged,” and they have found new freedom, working collaboratively with humans. This is largely possible due to new sensors and vision systems that provide sensory inputs, as well as high-performance processors and safety systems that allow robots and humans to work more closely together. However, some kinks still need to be worked out, such as robotic performance issues (typically collaborative applications are not as fast as fixed-robotic systems) and the robots’ ability to survive washdown situations.