ABB YuMi dual-arm collaborative robot

ABB has announced that its YuMi collaborative robot is now available in Australia. The robot has the ability to work side by side on the same tasks as humans while still ensuring the safety of those around it — thereby eliminating the need for protective barriers or safety zones. Its lightweight yet rigid magnesium skeleton features a floating plastic casing wrapped in soft padding in order to absorb impacts.

While YuMi was specifically designed to meet the flexible and agile production needs of the consumer electronics industry, it has equal application in any small parts assembly environment due to its dual arms, flexible hands, universal parts feeding system, camera-based part location, lead-through programming and state-of-the-art precise motion control.

YuMi can operate in very close collaboration with humans thanks to its inherently safe design. It is also compact, with human dimensions and human movements, which makes humans co-workers feel safe and comfortable.

If YuMi senses an unexpected impact, such as a collision with a co-worker, it can pause its motion within milliseconds, and the motion can be restarted again as easily as pressing play on a remote control. YuMi also has no pinch points so that nothing sensitive can be harmed as the axes open and close.