Working with Walt: How a Cobot Was Developed and Inserted on an Auto Assembly Line

Collaborative robots (cobots) are a category of robots designed to work together with humans. By combining the fortes of the robot, such as precision and strength, with the dexterity and problem-solving ability of the human, it is possible to accomplish tasks that cannot be fully automated and improve the production quality and working conditions of employees [6], [16]. This article presents the results of the ClaXon project, which studies and implements interactions between humans and cobots in factories. The project has led to the integration of a cobot in the Audi car manufacturing plant in Brussels, Belgium.