The first half of 2025 has passed, and with it, the spring and early summer industrial trade show season. While artificial intelligence and humanoid robots continue to dominate headlines in robotics, we see one product sector steadily increase their presence still: collaborative robots, or cobots. So after attending and reading about many international events so far, our mid-year reflections focus on the more visible and refined cobot sector.

Global Cobot Market

The year 2023 saw a record of over 4 million robots installed worldwide, growing by over half a million units annually since 2021. This momentum is expected to continue, reaching 600,000 units annual installation in 2027. Cobots currently represent only around 10% of total deployments, compared to traditional industrial robots. However, their market value is growing at a much faster pace. Multiple studies have predicted a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20-30% over the next 5 to 10 years.

As adoption increases and competition intensifies, both major robotics leaders and new startup companies showcased their latest cobot products at recent trade shows: not just hardware at affordable prices, but also intuitive user interfaces and software for rapid deployment and easy integration with existing factory systems. This reflects a key proposition of cobots: they are not only tools, but also a driving force for innovation and modular solutions in modern industrial environments.

Technologies and Applications

Collaborative robots were created to bridge the gap between rigid automation machinery and flexible human operations. Initially designed for lighter and easy-to-program tasks that do not require high payload or precision, cobots are good at machine tending, packaging, palletising, assembly, and inspection etc.

Today’s cobots are moving upmarket and converging more to traditional industrial robots, capable of handling heavier payloads, delivering higher precision, and performing more complex, AI-enabled tasks. Technology advancements in vision systems, force feedback control, cloud computing, and machine learning are unlocking cobot applications in new sectors besides manufacturing:

• Agriculture
• Logistics
• Field service and maintenance
• Medical and healthcare
• Laboratories and cleanrooms
• Hospitality
• Entertainment and film production
• …and more

As we expect growth in the cobot market value, their capabilities should expand across a broad range of industries.

Safety Standards Update

In our previous blog, we mentioned about the revision of ISO 10218 – Safety Requirements for Industrial Robots and Robot Systems. We’re pleased to share that the new ISO 10218:2025 was published earlier this year, and this two-part standard replaces the below documents:

• ISO 10218-1:2011 (Manufacturing of robots)
• ISO 10218-2:2011 (Robot systems and integration)
• ISO/TS 15066:2016 (Technical specifications for collaborative robots)

This 2025 update makes functional safety requirements more explicit, and has especially integrated the 2016 technical specification for cobot safety. Key changes include:

Expanded Scope for Robot Applications

Safety risk assessments have expanded from the robot system itself to the entire robot application, including the robot arm, end-effectors, workpieces and fixtures, peripheral equipment, task procedures, and workspace environment.

Clarified Collaborative Safety Guidelines

The ISO 10218-2:2025 now defines collaborative operation modes more clearly, including: Hand-Guided Control (HGC), Speed and Separation Monitoring (SSM), and Power and Force Limiting (PFL)

Improved Testing Tools & Methods

The standard specifies clear and measurable verification, referencing updated machinery safety standards (e.g. ISO 13849:2023), and provides concrete test methods for validating cobot system safety.

Introduction of Cybersecurity Requirements

For the first time, cybersecurity measures have been introduced to protect robot systems from cyber threats that could compromise safety. It’s a crucial addition as industrial robots become increasingly connected.

Conclusion

As we move through 2025, it’s evident that collaborative robots are no longer just a niche category, they are turning into a core component of industrial automation, and expanding into other industries. With strong projected growth, cross-industry applications, and updated international safety standards, cobots are better positioned than ever to support flexible, safe, and intelligent operations with or without humans working alongside them.

As technologies advance and deployment becomes easier and more cost-effective, the conversation is shifting from “Why cobots?” to “How soon can they be integrated?” We hope that you find our insights on collaborative robots useful.