Cobot

noun

/ˈkoʊbɒt/

A collaborative robot engineered to work safely alongside human operators in a shared workspace, equipped with force-limiting sensors, soft grippers, and real-time collision avoidance, used in tasks requiring both human dexterity and robotic precision.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

As India pursues labour-intensive manufacturing under "Make in India," the calibrated deployment of cobots on factory floors offers a middle path between full automation and manual production, augmenting worker productivity and safety without triggering large-scale technological unemployment.

Synonyms

collaborative robotassistive robotco-robotindustrial robotautomatonrobotic assistant

Antonyms

human workermanual labourerartisanautonomous robot

🌱 Word Family

cobot (n), cobots (n pl), cobotic (adj), cobotics (n)

🔡 Root

Coined/Modern: portmanteau of collaborative + robot; coined 1996 by Colgate & Peshkin, Northwestern University

📜 Etymology

Coined in 1996 by Northwestern University professors J. Edward Colgate and Michael Peshkin; a portmanteau of "collaborative" and "robot" — the concept emerged from research into devices that could share physical tasks with humans without safety cages.

🧠 Memory Hook

"CO-operative roBOT" — a CObot works hand-in-hand WITH (co-) humans, unlike a caged industrial robot that works alone.

🔬 Science & Technology 📖 Seen in: Robotics, Automation & Industry 4.0 — ...

Tip: press Alt+S to hear pronunciation