ABB Robotics launches high-speed PoWa™ cobot family

ABB Robotics is combining the flexibility of cobots with higher payloads and performance with the launch of its new PoWa cobot family into the rapidly expanding global collaborative robot market, which ABB Robotics estimates will grow by 20 percent annually through to 2028.

“Cobots are growing significantly faster than traditional industrial robots, driven by demands from both small and mid-sized companies starting their automation journey as well as large enterprises,” says Andrea Cassoni, Head of Collaborative Robots at ABB Robotics. “These customers are seeking higher speeds and payloads, but also greater ease of use and compact designs. Established manufacturers want to automate heavier, fast-cycle applications, without the complexity and operational rigidity of traditional industrial robots. We’re meeting these needs with the global launch of our high-speed PoWa™ cobot family – a name that symbolises its powerful, industrial-grade performance in a compact collaborative robot form.”

The new PoWa family addresses a long‑standing gap in the market between traditional cobots, which often lack the speed and payload required for industrial applications, and conventional industrial robots designed for highly specialized, large-scale automation environments.

PoWa extends ABB Robotics’ cobot offer with industrial-grade performance including six different payload categories, from 7 to 30 kg, the longest reach and highest arm load on the market and best-in-class top speed of up to 5.8 m/s.

Purpose-built for compact environments and suited to applications such as high-speed machine tending, palletising, screwdriving and arc welding, PoWa enables manufacturers to automate heavier and faster processes, while maintaining the flexibility, ease of use and compact footprint of collaborative robotics.

PoWa cobots are easy to use through programmable buttons on the arm-side interface and no-code programming, and offer compatibility with an extensive ecosystem of third-party accessories. PoWa can be unboxed and operational within an hour, providing seamless plug-and-play with a wide range of tools.

Powered by the ABB OmniCore controller platform, the new PoWa cobots deliver best-in-class motion control, speed and precision, reports ABB. They can be integrated with the company’s expanding suite of AI-powered software, including Robot Studio® and Wizard Easy Programming, enabling intuitive programming, fast deployment and maximum uptime.

Ensuring collaborative robots can do more things, in more places, and do it faster, safer and smarter is part of ABB Robotics’ vision for more autonomous and versatile robotics (AVRTM). By developing a new generation of intelligent, flexible, adaptative and collaborative multi-skilled robots, ABB Robotics furthers the ability of robots to learn, understand and plan independently, giving them greater autonomy and versatility.