Cobots:

Robots for collaboration with human operators

A cobot is a robot for direct physical interaction with a human operator, within a shared workspace.

Cobots were invented by Professors Edward Colgate and Michael Peshkin. Cobot research is carried out in the Laboratory for Intelligent Mechanical Systems (LIMS), Northwestern University, with the support of the General Motors Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and Ford Motor Company.

Cobots, when used in material handling, have become part of a broader class of robot-like devices known as Intelligent Assist Devices (IADs). "Cobot" refers to the use of computer-controlled steering of wheels or CVTs, in order to produce high quality virtual surfaces. IADs may or may not use computer-controlled steering.

Cobotics, Inc. was formed to develop, manufacture, and license cobotic technology, and IADs generally. In 2002 Cobotics was acquired by Stanley Assembly Technologies, Inc.

For information about the new safety standard for IADs, see the RIA page on IADs or search the RIA site for "T15"

This page is getting a bit old (2002). To see what's going on with cobots and other human-interactive robotics recently , check out research in the Laboratory for Intelligent Mechanical Systems (LIMS)

Non-technical reports & publicity

Photo gallery, pictures of cobots

Cobot: a Kinder, Gentler Robot, press release, Nov. 1996

Worth Watching: Robots to provide help in a tight spot, Financial Times (London), May 1, 1997

Mechanical Advantage Chicago Tribune, Business, p.1, 12/11/96

Definitions of the word "cobot"

Cobots learn to guide people, WIRED News, 12/19/96

People push while machine directs, Inside R&D 25:50, 12/11/96

Worker-Friedly Robots, Popular Mechanics, Tech Update, April 1997

Domo Arigato Mr. Coboto, Canadian Business Magazine, "technology", Spring 1997

NU inventors make assembly line safer, Northwestern Daily, April 8, 1997

Cobots: La Última Tecnologia Industrial, Listin Diario, 4 de Mayo de 1997, Dominican News

Discover Magazine Awards for Technological Innovation, 1997, Discover Magazine, July 1997

Robot helps humans in the factory, Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Nov. 15, 1997

Smarter than ever, The Inside Line, Sept. 1998

Manufacturing in the 21st Century: A Revolution in Technology Is on the March, Managing Automation, October 1999

Somewhat technical

Cobots work with people, IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine, Dec. 1996

Cobots for the assembly line, Mechanical Engineering Magazine, Nov. 1997

Cobots: A new generation of assembly tools for the line worker, SPIE Robotics and Machine Perception International Technical Working Group Newsletter, April 1997

Technical

Cobot Implementation of Virtual Paths and 3D Virtual Surfaces
Carl Moore, Michael Peshkin, J. Edward Colgate
IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation, volume 19 (2003), number 2 pp. 347-351.

Cobot architecture
Michael Peshkin, J. Edward Colgate, Witaya Wannasuphoprasit, Carl Moore, Brent Gillespie
IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation, 17(4), p 377, August 2001

A general framework for cobot control
Gillespie, R.B.; Colgate, J.E.; Peshkin, M.A.
Robotics and Automation, IEEE Transactions on , Volume: 17 Issue: 4 , Page(s): 391 -401, Aug. 2001

Kinematic creep in continuously variable transmissions: traction drive mechanics for cobots
Brent Gillespie, Carl Moore, Michael Peshkin, J. Edward Colgate
To be published, ASME Journal of Mechanical Design

Cobots
Michael Peshkin, J. Edward Colgate
Industrial Robot, 26 (5), 1999, pp 335-341

Cobot Implementation of Virtual Paths and 3D Virtual Surfaces
Carl Moore, Michael Peshkin, J. Edward Colgate
IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation, volume 19 (2003), number 2 pp. 347-351.

Cobot architecture
Michael Peshkin, J. Edward Colgate, Witaya Wannasuphoprasit, Carl Moore, Brent Gillespie
IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation, 17(4), p 377, August 2001

A general framework for cobot control
Gillespie, R.B.; Colgate, J.E.; Peshkin, M.A.
Robotics and Automation, IEEE Transactions on , Volume: 17 Issue: 4 , Page(s): 391 -401, Aug. 2001

Kinematic creep in continuously variable transmissions: traction drive mechanics for cobots
Brent Gillespie, Carl Moore, Michael Peshkin, J. Edward Colgate
To be published, ASME Journal of Mechanical Design

Mechanics in the Engineering First Curriculum at Northwestern University
Belytschko, T., A. Bayliss, C. Brinson, S. Carr, W. Kath, S. Krishnaswamy, B. Moran, J. Nocedal, M. Peshkin
International Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 13:6, (1998)

Mechanically implementable accommodation matrices for passive force control
Ambarish Goswami, Michael Peshkin
International Journal of Robotics Research, 18 (8), August 1999

Final report of the Technical Requirements for Image-Guided Spine Procedures Workshop
Kevin Cleary et. al., Computer Aided Surgery, Vol. 5:3, 2000

Cobots
Michael Peshkin, J. Edward Colgate
Industrial Robot, 26 (5), 1999, pp 335-341