Modern factories increasingly rely on collaborative robots, or "cobots," that work alongside human employees rather than replacing them. Unlike traditional industrial robots confined to safety cages, cobots are designed to share workspace with people directly. Engineers who develop these machines must ensure that sensors are sensitive enough to detect a human hand within milliseconds and halt all movement before contact occurs. The distinction matters because a cobot that reacts slowly could injure the very worker it is meant to assist. Manufacturers therefore subject each unit to hundreds of hours of motion-safety testing before it ever reaches a factory floor.

Источник: Adapted from a 2021 article on collaborative robotics in manufacturing