Universal Robots is a Danish manufacturer of smaller flexible industrial collaborative robot arms (

cobots A cobot, or collaborative robot, is a robot intended for direct human-robot interaction within a shared space, or where humans and robots are in close proximity. Cobot applications contrast with traditional industrial robot applications in which r ...

), based in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

, Denmark. Since 2015, the company has been owned by American

automatic test equipment Automatic test equipment or automated test equipment (ATE) is any apparatus that performs tests on a device, known as the device under test (DUT), equipment under test (EUT) or unit under test (UUT), using automation to quickly perform measurements ...

designer and manufacturer

Teradyne Teradyne, Inc. is an American automatic test equipment (ATE) designer and manufacturer based in North Reading, Massachusetts. Teradyne's high-profile customers include Samsung, Qualcomm, Intel, Analog Devices, Texas Instruments and IBM. His ...

. Universal Robots was the first company to launch a collaborative robot that could safely operate alongside employees, eliminating the need for safety cages or fencing. As of 2022, Universal Robots was the market leader for collaborative robots, credited with 40-50% of the market share.

History

Universal Robots was founded in

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in 2005 by Esben Østergaard, Kasper Støy, and Kristian Kassow. During joint research at the

Syddansk Universitet The University of Southern Denmark ( da, Syddansk Universitet, lit=South Danish University, abbr. SDU) is a university in Denmark that has campuses located in Southern Denmark and on Zealand. The university offers a number of joint programmes in ...

Odense, the founders came to the conclusion that the robotics market was dominated by heavy, expensive, and unwieldy robots. That led them to develop the idea to make robot technology accessible to small and medium-sized businesses. In 2008, the first UR5 cobots were available on the Danish and German markets. In 2012 the second cobot, UR10, was launched. In spring 2015, the table-top cobot UR3 was launched. In 2015, Universal Robots was acquired by

for USD 258 million.Godske, Bjørn.
Universal Robots solgt for 1,9 mia. kroner
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Ingeniøren ''Ingeniøren'' (full name: ''Nyhedsmagasinet Ingeniøren'', literally ''The News Magazine "The Engineer"'') is a Danish weekly newspaper specialising in engineering topics. History and profile The paper has covered science and technology issues a ...

'', 13 May 2015. Accessed: 13 May 2015. In 2016, Universal Robots launched the UR Academy, a training platform that offers online and in-class robotics training courses. In the same year, Universal Robots launched the UR+ Ecosystem, a platform for third party developers to create and sell products that are compatible with collaborative robots from Universal Robots. At Automatica 2018, a German trade fair for smart automation and robotics

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, Universal Robots introduced a new generation of collaborative robots called the "e-Series". In 2019, the company launched the UR16e cobot. In 2020, Universal Robots had installed 50,000 collaborative robots worldwide. In April 2022, Universal Robots announced that it had broken ground on a new headquarter in

. The headquarter will be shared with Universal Robot's sister compan
MiR
It will be the world's largest hub for collaborative robots and autonomous mobile robots. In 2022, Universal Robots opened its 100th training center for cobot programming in

Täby Täby () was previously a trimunicipal locality, with 66,292 inhabitants in 2013. However, as from 2016, Statistics Sweden has amalgamated this locality with the Stockholm urban area. It is the seat of Täby Municipality in Stockholm County, Swed ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. The company has training centers in 23 countries. At Automatica 2022, a German trade fair for smart automation and robotics, the company revealed the UR20 as its latest product addition.

Products

Universal Robots has seven collaborative robots on the market. All robots are six-jointed robot arms. The CB3-series consists of the UR3, UR5 and UR10, while UR16e, UR10e, UR5e and UR3e are part of the newer e-series. The UR20 is the first collaborative robot in a whole new generation of collaborative robots. Universal Robots' collaborative robots are used for many different applications including

welding Welding is a fabrication (metal), fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing Fusion welding, fusion. Welding is distinct from lower ...

machine tending {{unreferenced, date=August 2016 Machine tending refers to the automated operation of industrial machine tools in a manufacturing plant, primarily using robot automation systems. While loading and unloading is the primary function of machine ten ...

palletizing A pallet (also called a skid) is a flat transport structure, which supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, a pallet jack, a front loader, a jacking device, or an erect crane. A pallet is the structural foundat ...

and

grinding (abrasive cutting) Grinding is a type of abrasive machining process which uses a grinding wheel as Cutting tool (machining), cutting tool. A wide variety of machines are used for grinding, best classified as portable or stationary: * Portable power tools such as ...

within industries such as automotive,

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

pharmaceuticals A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and rel ...

plastics Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their Plasticity (physics), plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be Injection moulding, moulded, Extrusion, e ...

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...

and

beverage A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies a ...

Awards and recognition

Universal Robots received an Honoree in the "robotics" category at Automation World’s “Leadership in Automation” in 2016. At the Learning Technologies Award in London at the end of 2017, the UR Academy was awarded “Silver” in the category “Excellence in the design of learning content - international commercial sector” In 2018, Esben Østergaard, one of the co-founders of Universal Robots, was awarded the Engelberger Robotics Award for his work on developing Universal Robot's collaborative robots. At the 2018 Annual Manufacturing Leadership Awards, Universal Robots won three awards in "Collaborative Innovation Leadership" for the UR+ platform, "Smart Products and Services Leadership" for the product portfolio, and co-founder Esben Østergaard received an award in the category "Visionary Leadership". In 2021, the

Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM), also known as ARM Institute, is a consortium created in 2017 through a Department of Defense grant won by Carnegie Mellon University. ARM is structured as a public-private partnership and the Manufacturing ...

Institute recognized the Core Training program from UR Academy with an endorsement for their commitment to preparing students to pursue an Advanced Manufacturing / Robotics Industry 4.0 career.

References

External links

* {{official website, https://www.universal-robots.com/ Danish brands Industrial machine manufacturers Industrial robotics companies Robotics companies Engineering companies of Denmark Manufacturing companies of Denmark Companies based in Odense Municipality Danish companies established in 2005 Manufacturing companies established in 2005 Technology companies established in 2005 2015 mergers and acquisitions