On the Automate present this week, 3D Infotech will show a turnkey high quality inspection course of with the UR15 and UR AI Accelerator, demonstrating the potential of bodily AI within the UR15. | Supply: Common Robots
Common Robots unveiled its quickest collaborative robotic (cobot) but in the present day. The UR15 has a most TCP velocity of 5 m/s to scale back cycle instances, enhance productiveness, and scale back prices throughout functions and industries.
For pick-and-place functions, the corporate stated the UR15 delivers as much as 30% cycle time enhancements in comparison with different UR fashions. On the identical time, it maintains the traits UR cobots are recognized for, similar to a light-weight design and small footprint.
When mixed with OptiMove, UR’s new movement management know-how, the corporate stated these beneficial properties go even additional. OptiMove can improve trajectory smoothness and guarantee persistently correct actions, even in high-speed and high-payload functions, UR claims.
“For 20 years, we’ve pushed the boundaries of collaborative automation, making it simpler, safer and extra highly effective for companies world wide,” stated Tero Tolonen, Chief Product Officer, Common Robots. “Immediately, we take one other leap ahead with the UR15, which is designed particularly to function at increased speeds with the smoothest efficiency in robotics in the present day. This makes it a seamless match for numerous manufacturing environments and offers our huge ecosystem of companions with a possibility to spice up current functions and to develop new, transformative options that can take collaborative automation to the subsequent stage.”
New cobot, management adjustments to assist deal with falling gross sales
UR is a member of Teradyne’s robotics group, together with autonomous cell robotic developer Cellular Industrial Robots (MiR). UR declined 3% 12 months over 12 months, and MiR grew 1% 12 months over 12 months. Teradyne Robotics Group laid off 10% of its international employees in January 2024.
To this point, in 2025, Teradyne’s robotics group hasn’t fared higher. Based on the corporate, its robotics income was $69 million in Q1 2025, which is down from $98 million in This autumn 2024. This additionally marked a 21% drop in gross sales in Q1 12 months over 12 months.
Simply final week, Teradyne introduced management adjustments to each of its robotics divisions. Jean-Pierre Hathout transitions from main MiR to changing Kim Povlsen because the president of UR. Kevin Dumas succeeds Hathout as the brand new president of MIR. Povlsen is pursuing an exterior profession alternative. These adjustments, together with the brand new robotic, might assist UR bounce again from it current highway bumps.
“We live in a time of extraordinary stress, no understatement there. Throughout each hyperlink of the economic worth chain, we’ve labor shortages, shifting demand cycles, elevated volatility, and a rising requirement for resilience in how we transfer and make issues in that context. Automation isn’t only a aggressive lever anymore, it’s a foundational requirement for the trade,” Ujjwal Kumar, group president of Teradyne Robotics, stated throughout a press convention.
UR has been a long-time chief of the cobot trade. Earlier this 12 months, it surpassed 100,000 cobots bought over the lifetime of the corporate.
This 12 months, for the primary time, the Affiliation for Advancing Automation (A3) included cobot statistics in its quarterly North American robotic numbers. A3 discovered that, general, robotic gross sales remained largely flat from final 12 months, with items ordered growing 0.4% to 9,064 items. Cobots made up 11.6% of all robots ordered.
UR targets automotive, machining, and electronics with UR15
The UR15 at Automate 2025. | Credit score: The Robotic Report
The UR15 has a payload of 15 kg (33 lbs). This will increase to 17.5 kg (38.58 lbs) for functions with wrist-down orientation, similar to palletizing. UR designed it to be a flexible cobot with a number of functions and industries. Some industries it’s focusing on specifically embrace:
Automotive, the place house is tight, and adaptability is essential. Right here, the corporate stated UR15’s small footprint and full work envelope ship efficiency with out compromising house or velocity. Traditionally, cobots haven’t been used for frequent automotive functions as a consequence of their manufacturing. This contains duties like automated bin choosing, machine tending, and inspection. Now, UR stated these might be considerably sped up whereas retaining the best stage of precision.
Steel and machining, the place environments might be harsh. The UR15 affords improved ingress safety, IP65, and excessive payload functionality, mixed with simple deployment.
Electronics and tech require precision and compact design. With cleanroom class excellence, compact type, and distinctive movement management, UR15 is prepared for high-speed decide and place and easy integration with AMRs and AGVs, the corporate claimed.
“I spent the final 25 years of my profession in manufacturing, and I’ve seen an actual shift in the way in which firms method automation. From inflexible, capital-intensive methods to versatile, clever human-scale instruments that are designed for agility,” Kumar stated.
UR15 is AI-ready to adapt to many wants
UR15 runs with each PolyScope 5 and PolyScope X, UR’s software program platform, and customers can improve it with AI to allow increased usability. The corporate stated end-users can use the UR15 with the UR AI Accelerator, UR’s toolkit for growing AI-powered functions.
The UR AI Accelerator is developed in collaboration with NVIDIA utilizing NVIDIA Isaac’s CUDA-accelerated libraries and fashions and working on the NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin system-on-module.
“Immediately, the actual benefit lies in adaptability. It’s now not nearly how a lot you possibly can produce, it’s about how briskly you possibly can change. In that sense, we’re seeing one thing exceptional. Giant enterprises are studying from smaller, extra nimble producers who already embraced cobots to achieve excessive combine, low quantity manufacturing,” Kumar stated.
UR15 joins the UR20 and UR30 for many who want increased payloads, superior capabilities, and certifications for demanding environments. Along with UR7e and UR12e, the e-Sequence additionally consists of UR3e and UR16e.
UR15 is on the market for pre-orders now, with transport to start in June. UR7e and UR12e are prepared for instant supply. The UR15, together with many different cobots from the corporate’s product vary, will likely be on show this week at Automate in Sales space 5574.
“We don’t construct cobots to exchange human beings,” Kumar stated. “We construct cobots to help folks, to increase what’s attainable, to make work safer, extra productive, and extra significant.”
