Universal Robots maintains top spot in ABI Research’s ranking of cobot companies in industrial applications

ABI Research has released the results of its new Industrial Collaborative Robots Competitive Assessment, finding Universal Robots to be the clear forerunner, particularly in implementation.

The Industrial Collaborative Robots Competitive Assessment analysed and ranked 12 collaborative robot vendors in the industry, using ABI Research’s proven and unbiased innovations/implementation criteria framework.

For the assessment, innovation criteria included payload, software, ergonomics and human-machine interaction, experimentation and safety, while implementation criteria focused on units and revenue, cost and ROI, partnerships, value-added services, and the number of employees.

The 12 companies analysed were ABB, Aubo Robotics, Automata, Doosan Robotics, FANUC, Franka Emika, Kuka AG, Precise Automation, Productive Robotics, Techman Robot, Universal Robots, and Yaskawa Motoman.

Rian Whitton, Senior Analyst at ABI Research, said: “Market leaders in cobots generally have well-developed cobot rosters, in many cases backed up by an ecosystem platform that integrates applications, accessories, and end-of-arm-tooling solutions in with the base hardware.”

With 37,000 cobots sold so far, Universal Robots leads, followed by Taiwanese provider Techman with 10,000, and Korea-based Doosan with over 2,000.

Precise Automation, which uses an advanced direct drive solution to develop faster collaborative robots, was cited as the most innovative of the 12 providers, just edging out Universal Robots, who claimed the top stop due to its significant lead in implementation.

Whitton said: “Though many of the cobots deployed by these companies are impressive, and they have a lot of software services, the high-cost and lack of easy use among their systems largely defeat the current value proposition of cobots, making them the laggards in this competitive assessment.”