A collaborative robot, or cobot, is an articulated arm designed to share a workspace with people and work safely at close range. Most cobots have six or seven motorized joints and can be taught by hand: an operator guides the arm through a motion once and the robot repeats it, with no control code to write. That makes them quick to set up and well suited to tasks such as assembling electronics, tending machines, driving screws, dispensing and inspection, and handling materials alongside the people working nearby.
Cobot connectivity
Connectivity inside the cobot arm involves a real-time fieldbus carrying commands to every joint with tight timing for coordinated motion. Outside the arm, the cobot joins wider automation network over industrial Ethernet, and wireless links can repo
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Cobot controller
The controller coordinates cobot arm motion operates in a real-time environment. It generates the joint trajectories and sends coordinated position commands to every joint over the bus. It also runs the functional-safety monitoring on torque, speed,
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Cobot HMI / teaching pendant
The teaching pendant runs a graphical interface on a touchscreen for programming, jogging, and monitoring the arm, along with the safety controls: the enabling switch and emergency stop. The application processor, the display and touch electronics, s
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Cobot joint control
Cobot joints are small servo systems where brushless motors drive the joints through precision gearboxes, field-oriented control ensures smooth and accurate motion, and encoders feed position readings back to the controller over a differential serial
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Cobot power management
A cobot converts power at the point of use. A single DC bus runs to each joint, where local regulators produce the rails required by the motor-control and sensing electronics. The controller monitors these rails and reports any supply outside its nor
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Cobot sensing and edge AI processing
Cobots use vision and ranging sensors to locate and inspect objects, force/torque sensing to guide assembly and finishing, and MEMS sensors to track joint and gearbox condition for predictive maintenance. Vision and sensor processing are areas of par
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Collaborative application safety methods (ISO 10218-2:2025)
| Method | Implementation | Requirement of the electronics |
|---|---|---|
| Safety-rated monitored stop | The arm holds a monitored standstill whenever an operator is in the shared workspace and resumes automatically once the space is clear. | Safety-rated standstill and position monitoring, safe torque off on the drive stage. |
| Hand guiding | The operator moves the arm directly through a hand-operated device, and the robot follows the applied input to teach or reposition. | Joint torque or force sensing, safe speed monitoring, an enabling-device input. |
| Speed and separation monitoring | The arm keeps a protective separation distance from the operator, slowing as the distance narrows and stopping if a minimum is crossed. | Real-time distance sensing (vision, time-of-flight, safety scanners), safe speed and position monitoring. |
| Power and force limiting | The arm limits contact force and pressure to stay below biomechanical thresholds, so intended or incidental contact does not injure. | Joint torque sensing or current-based estimation, collision detection, safety-rated drive control. |
A collaborative robot draws on nearly every part of ST's portfolio. STM32 microcontrollers and microprocessors run the individual joints and coordinate their motion from the central controller, while STDRIVE and STSPIN motor drivers, with STripFET and GaN power stages, turn the joint motors. Position and current sensing close those control loops, and the arm senses its surroundings through MEMS and vision sensors supported by edge AI. Secure connectivity ties the arm into the wider production line, and power management and protection devices feed and safeguard every board from the base to the end effector.
Enabling technologies
| Edge AI | Security |
| STM32N6 | STSAFE |
| Functional safety | Simulation |
| MEMS sensors | eDesignSuite |
Example cobot applications
| Machine tending | Assembly and screwdriving |
| Loading and unloading CNC machines, presses, and molding cells | Precision assembly, fastening, and insertion in electronics and automotive |
| Palletizing and packaging | Quality inspection |
| End-of-line palletizing, packing, and material handling | Vision-guided inspection, measurement, and testing |