When a typical industrial robot is overkill but a cobot doesn’t quite get the job done, you can now turn to a new solution: a sidebot.

Jamie Hartford

September 20, 2021

1 Min Read
Wyzo with Operators-ftd.jpg
Photo supplied by Wyzo

Companies seeking to automate their operations typically have two choices: a workhorse industrial robot, intended to replace human workers, or a defter cobot, designed for lighter work performed in collaboration with or in close proximity to humans. But a new category of robots, called sidebots, seeks to provide the best of both worlds.

Swiss company Wyzo claims to have developed the world’s first direct-drive pick-and-place sidebot, which it says can work side-by-side with human workers in the food and beverage, consumer goods, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, automotive, electrical, and electronics industries. The company says its namesake sidebot is 10 times faster than a typical cobot, providing up to 80 picks per minute. At 5.5 square feet and less than six feet tall, the Wyzo is six times more compact than a typical industrial robot. And thanks to sensors that can detect nearby human activity, it does not need to be surrounded by protective barriers.

Wyzo on duty with people-web.jpg

Working at 2,000 to 5,000 cycles per hour, the Wyzo is best suited for medium-sized production batches, although users can boost capacity by combining several sidebots. It was designed with an intuitive human-machine interface and requires no programming or scripts to operate.

Wyzo will be exhibiting this new product at Pack Expo Las Vegas 2021 (Las Vegas; September 27-29), Booth SL-6027.

 

About the Author(s)

Jamie Hartford

Jamie Hartford is editor-in-chief of MD+DI and director of content for medtech brands in UBM's Advanced Manufacturing Group, where she oversees content creation for the MD&M and BIOMEDevice conferences. Reach her at [email protected].

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