COLOGNE, Germany—For the first time, Ford Motor Co. has deployed a team of collaborative robots, or cobots, to work alongside employees at its assembly plant here to ensure that every Ford Fiesta has a perfect finish.
The six cobots complete a choreographed sequence to sand the entire body surface in just 35 seconds. The initiative does not replace employees, but allows them to use their time on more complex tasks and avoid suffering the strains associated with performing repetitive tasks.