Universal Robots Grabs New York Stock Exchange Manufacturer At...

Universal Robots Grabs New York Stock Exchange Manufacturer At... Universal Robots Grabs New York Stock Exchange Manufacturer At... Universal Robots Grabs New York Stock Exchange, Manufacturer Attention Everyone knows a business has arrived when its leaders ring the bell to close trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Late last year, however, the exchange broke from tradition and chose a Universal Robots UR5e to perform the task. The event was not organized for Universal, a Danish startup acquired in 2015 by Teradyne, an automated test and measurement firm. Instead, it honored the fifth anniversary of ROBO Global, a fund that invests in robot-related public companies. Universals UR5e encapsulates the type of innovation and business performance that has caused both investors and factory owners to take notice. It is lightweight, easy to set up, and safe enough to operate around workers (as well as financiers and executives). A Universal Robots UR5e rings the bell on the New York Stock Exchange. It is also easy to program. Users simply position the arm where they want it, then use tablet- or smartphone-based software to tell it what to do at each position. Once the robot begins the task, it automatically optimizes movement between positions. It usually takes about 15 minutes to program the robot, said Stuart Shepherd, the companys sales manager for the Americas. ASME.org Editors Story Choice: The Rise from BattleBot to Corporate Robot Most Popular Story: Artificial and 3D-Printed Skin Advances for Robots, Humans Most conventional robots, by contrast, require dedicated programmers and a fence to prevent workers from getting close enough to get injured. Universal created the market for cobots, small collaborative robots that work around people without safety cages, 10 years ago. By the close of 2018, it held a 60 percent share of the cobot market, despite vigorous competition from now-defunct Rethink Robotics and such old-line industrial robot arm vendors as ABB, Fanuc, Kuka, and Yaskawa. It is also a business success. By the close of 2018, Universals sales were on track to double to $255 million, Shepherd said. Revenue grew 72 percent in 2017, 62 percent in 2016, and 58 percent in 2015. Shepherd joined the company last April, after a 35-year career in the robotics industry. He graduated from Purdue University with a mechanical engineering technology degree, held positions at FANUC, KUKA, and Güdel,served a term as Chairman of the Robotic Industries Association, and is currently the Chairman of the Association for Advancing Automation. Through most of his career, Shepherd sold heavy-duty robots to large automakers. Universals approach to the market is very different, he said. Instead of targeting industrial giants, Universal is going after small and medium-sized enterprises. These companies often have no robot experience, no dedicated robot teams, and many applications that have never used robots before. Breaking into this highly diverse market requires time and resources for intensive application development. Thats why Shepherd called Teradynes 2015 acquisition of Universal Robots a tipping point. The larger company, which had $2.1 billion in revenue in 2017, was able to pump more money into research, engineering, sales, and manufacturing. Teradyne optimized Universals supply chain. Many fast-growing companies have trouble meeting demand Shepherd explained. Teradyne addressed that problem by ensuring Universal had dual sources for critical components to reduce the likelihood of delays or shortages. Under Teradyne, Universal redesigned its robots. The new e-Series is easier to configure and assemble, and can go from order to delivery anywhere in the world in five to seven days. The robots are also easier to deploy and maintain. It took about an hour and a half to set up the UR5e used to ring the bell at the Stock Exchange. The redesign also slashes the time needed to swap out misbehaving joints from hours to about eight or nine minutes. Universal used its position as the cobot industrys dominant player to createUR+, a marketplacewhere users canUR-certifiedaccessories for its robots.The company always relied on third-party vendors for grippers, cameras, sensors, lights, actuators, and other devices. The new marketplace provides an easier way for customers to search their options. We dont add extra value to that channel or try to monetize it, Shepherd said. We just connect customers with solutions. Every nanosecond we spend on those accessories is another nanosecond wasted. Instead, Universal focuses tightly on RD and manufacturing. We have to stay ahead of the competition, Shepherd said. The reason were market leaders is that we built robots for collaboration right from the beginning. Its the only thing we do, and we have a limited range of products, robots optimized for 3, 5, and 10 kilograms. Our growth path is to replicate the growth of large industrial robots, but in 10-kilogram and under applications. Our challenge is to reach small-to-midsized entrepreneurs with the right applications. Maybe our robots cant do spot welding, but they can feed pieces to a larger robot that does, he said. Another future market could be warehouse and logistics robots. Last August, Teradyne acquired Denmarks Mobil Industrial Robots. It makes mobile vehicles that can navigate warehouses and shop floors autonomously. Universals lightweight robot arms could provide those platforms with the ability to pick and unload products autonomously, Shepherd said. Read Part 2 of this story to find out why ROBO Global wants companies like Teradyne and Universal Robots in its portfolio. More Exclusive Stories from ASME.org: Fight Climate Change, Build the Wall! Using the Eyes of Killer Shrimp to Design a Super Camera 3D-Printed Cement Improves Crack Resistance For Further Discussion Our growth path is to replicate the growth of large industrial robots, but in 10-kilogram and under applications. Our challenge is to reach small-to-midsized entrepreneurs with the right applications.Stuart Shepherd, Universal Robots Universal Robots Grabs New York Stock Exchange Manufacturer At... Universal Robots Grabs New York Stock Exchange Attention In Part One of this story, we took a look at how Universal Robots UR5e is helping to usher in a new era of affordable collaborative robots. Here, we explore why Wall Street is interested in the cobot market. Teradyne and Universal Robots are the types of success stories ROBO Global wants in its portfolio. ROBO is what is known as an exchange traded fund. It invests in stocks (in this case, robot-related stocks) and trades on nine exchanges around the world like any other stock. ROBO Global invests in a wide range of companies with significant investments in robots, automation, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, actuators, sensors, and application-specific companies. Small and mid-cap companies (with stock values below $2 billion) make up 77 percent of its portfolio. Chris Buck, the funds head of capital markets and sales, argues that ROBO Global is a conservative way to invest in the robots-automation-artificial intelligence sector. In the five years since the fund launched, several similar ETFs have come to market. Their portfolios often invest heavily in a small number of market leaders, he said. This makes them vulnerable, because those leaders are vulnerable to technology changes. While ROBO also looks for leading businesses and technologies, it does not place large bets on any of the companies in its portfolio. Our top 10 out of 87 companies represent only 15 to 18 percent of investment, Buck said. We try not to pick winners, but cast a wide net over the ecosystem. We want to ride the megatrend wave. ASME.orgs Editors Pick: Fight Climate Change, Build the Wall! Top Story: Using the Eyes of Killer Shrimp to Design a Super Camera While many investors believe robots are a good bet for the future, the cooperative robot segment exemplified by Universal could prove even better, according to Henrik Christensen, who attended a conference held by ROBO Global prior to the bell ringing ceremony. Christensen heads University of California, San Diegos Institute for Contextual Robotics and is lead editor of the U.S. Robotics Roadmap. He is also one of ROBO Globals advisors. Cobots are designed to work safely around humans. Collaborative robots now make up only a small fraction of the industrial automation market. Universal, for example, has only sold 27,000 UR robots since its inceptionabout as many as the total number of robots sold in the United States in 2017. Yet the International Federation of Robotics expects cobots to account for 34 percent of sales by 2025, Christensen said. He expects robots (as well as automation) to play a major role in mass customization, building products to specific customer requirements. This trend would put a premium on plants located closer customers. This may eventually affect global trade. While the supply chains of developed nations have moved to low-wage nations like China, he believes robots and other advanced technologies could lead to increased on-shoring over the next 10 to 15 years. Christensen also addressed Chinese competition in robots. Chinese salaries have risen 350 percent over the past 10 to 15 years, while U.S. salaries have remained flat. This puts pressure on China to find new ways to compete with U.S. manufacturers. One way is to invest in robots. China is already building components for robots, but they are at least a factor of five worse than those built elsewhere. Their lifetime is lower. Its hard to play catch up in a fast-moving industry, he said. Still, he noted that Chinas Midea Group recently purchased Germanys Kuka, and could use its IP to accelerate Chinas learning curve. He expects it will take five to 10 years for China to make a truly competitive robot. All that time, robotics firms in developed nations will be pushing hard to increase capabilities. Which suggests that Universals robot may not be the last to ring the bell at the end of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. More Exclusive Content from ASME.org: The Rise from BattleBot to Corporate Robot Artificial and 3D-Printed Skin Advances for Robots, Humans 3D-Printed Cement Improves Crack Resistance For Further Discussion The International Federation of Robotics expects cobots to account for 34 percent of sales by 2025. Henrik Christensen, University of CaliforniaHenrik Christensen, University of California, San Diego