n TECHNOLOGY June 2026 www.drivesncontrols.com 20 ABB ROBOTICS HAS LAUNCHED a family of collaborative robots that, it says, combine the flexibility of cobots with the higher payloads and performance of industrial robots. The PoWa cobots have payloads from 7– 30kg, “best-in-class” top speeds of 5.8m/s, and the longest reaches and arm loads on the market. ABB says that the new family addresses a long-standing gap in the market between cobots, that often lack the speed and payload capacities needed for industrial applications, and industrial robots, which are designed for specialised, large-scale automation environments, going beyond the needs of many collaborative tasks. ABB is targeting the rapidly expanding global cobot market, which it predicts will grow at an annual rate of 20% in the period to 2028. “Cobots are growing significantly faster than traditional industrial robots, driven by demands from both small and mid-sized companies starting their automation journey, as well as large enterprises,” says ABB Robotics’ head of collaborative robots, Andrea Cassoni. “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,” he adds. “We are meeting these needs with the global launch of our high-speed PoWa cobot family – a name that symbolises its powerful, industrial-grade performance in a compact collaborative robot form.” The cobots are aimed at applications such as high-speed machine tending, palletising, screwdriving and arc welding, They will allow manufacturers to automate heavier and faster processes, while maintaining the flexibility, ease of use and compact footprints. ABB says the cobots can be unboxed and working within an hour. They work in a plug-and-play manner with a wide range of tools, blending industrial-grade connectivity and performance with cobot flexibility. The cobots have programmable buttons on an arm-side interface and support no-code programming. They are compatible with a wide range of third-party accessories. The PoWa cobots are powered by ABB’s OmniCore controllers and can be integrated with its AI-powered software, including Robot Studio and Wizard Easy Programming, enabling intuitive programming, fast deployment and maximum uptime. A new capability called EyeMotion will allow users to create vision programs by dragging and dropping functional blocks in an intuitive interface, enabling fast image acquisition and accurate recognition. The software – and add-on to Robot Studio – will work with any vision hardware to generate collision-free paths. ABB is in the process of selling ABB Robotics to the Japanese investor SoftBank Group (SBG) for $5.375bn. The transaction is expected to close later this year. High-speed cobots aim to close the gap with industrial robots FESTO HAS ANNOUNCED an online AIpowered Virtual Assistant that gives engineers and maintenance workers immediate access to technical answers, helping them resolve issues faster and keep operations moving. The tool has been developed specifically for industrial automation applications. It delivers context-based answers to technical queries in seconds, enabling users to move more quickly from identifying problems to resolving them, without having to search multiple data sources. Unlike general-purpose AI systems, the Virtual Assistant uses only verified Festo sources of data, including datasheets, manuals, CAD files and engineering tools. Its outputs are said to be based on reliable, application-relevant information. The tool is designed to interpret technical context, allowing it to respond accurately to engineering queries. Festo says that while other chatbots understand language, its Virtual Assistant understands technical contexts and thinks like an engineer. It does not search the Internet and does not display any advertising or marketing content. By consolidating information usually spread across multiple systems, manuals and data sources into a single interface, the Virtual Assistant simplifies access to engineering knowledge. It supports a broad range of applications, including fault diagnosis, component selection, access to technical standards and retrieving product data. Besides offering best practice solutions, it provides direct links to Festo engineering tools for sizing or simulation and helps to troubleshoot machines. Users can describe technical issues in their own words, as though they were talking to a colleague. The more precise the question, the more specific the answer will be. No additional training is required, making it easy to adopt the tool into existing workflows. “Engineers’ time is best used to solve problems, not to spend hours searching for information,” points out Javier Güell, from Festo Sales AI Solutions. “However, increasing system complexity and fragmented data sources often make that unavoidable. The Festo Virtual Assistant helps redress that balance by searching multiple sources in seconds, enabling engineers to focus on their core role of designing new solutions, keeping systems running and optimising performance.” The Festo Virtual Assistant is available via Festo’s Web site and is free to use. Festo’s AI-based virtual assistant ‘thinks like an engineer’ ABB says that its high-speed, higher-payload PoWa cobots will lower the barrier to automation for both SMEs and larger enterprises
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