Kristian Hukgard, general manager of the Americas division at OnRobot. The pandemic has driven interest in collaborative automation because it provides an affordable way for companies to comply with social distancing regulations. Following a risk assessment, cobots can be deployed next to humans – say, on an assembly or inspection line – without additional fencing or guarding. So, by alternating between humans and cobots, facilities can maintain production while simultaneously meeting their social distancing obligations. However, if anything, the pandemic accelerated preexisting trends in the adoption of cobots and lightweight industrial arms, interest in remote access tools, and of course, challenges around labor availability, all of which existed before Covid-19's emergence.