In context
By late 2023, manufacturing was deep into Industry 4.0, with automation and digital technologies driving significant productivity gains. However, the human element was often overlooked, and global disruptions highlighted the need for resilience. This opinion piece, authored by a regional president at Universal Robots, argued that the next industrial revolution—Industry 5.0—would center on collaboration between humans and machines, with cobots playing a key role.
What was reported
The article outlined how Industry 4.0, leveraging IoT, AI, and advanced robotics, had automated processes and reduced costs, with projected global productivity gains of $1.2–3.7 trillion. Yet, it neglected the human factor, prompting a shift toward Industry 5.0, which prioritizes human creativity and problem-solving alongside automation.
Key benefits of Industry 5.0 include putting people first, enhancing resilience, and pursuing sustainability beyond mere mitigation. Collaborative automation, particularly cobots, is central to this vision. Cobots are smaller, easier to program, and more cost-effective than industrial robots, making them accessible to SMEs. They handle repetitive or dangerous tasks, allowing humans to focus on higher-value work.
The article cited a McKinsey report suggesting that collaborative automation could boost productivity by 7–18% and throughput by 10–20%. It also highlighted AIM Processing, which saw a 400% productivity increase after deploying UR5e cobots, which consume only 200W of energy—comparable to a gaming console.
“Cobots are also more cost-effective than industrial robots, making them a viable option for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), thus propelling the sector up the value chain.”
Why it mattered
The piece underscored a growing industry consensus that automation alone is insufficient; the future lies in human-robot collaboration. For manufacturers, embracing Industry 5.0 and cobots could mean not only improved productivity and resilience but also a more skilled workforce and a smaller environmental footprint—critical factors as global supply chains face ongoing volatility.
Source: Robotics & Automation News (roboticsandautomationnews.com) · Published 2023-12-11 · “Opinion: Adding the human edge and augmenting automation through Industry 5.0 in manufacturing”