600kg load capacity mobile cobot tackles tougher tasks
21 November 2024 
Danish-based Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR) has announced a mobile cobot (collaborative robot) that can handle loads of up to 600kg. The MC600 integrates MiR’s MiR600 AMR (autonomous mobile robot) with a UR20/UR30 cobot from its sister company, Universal Robots, to automate operations such as palletising, box handling and machine tending. The UR20’s extended reach allows the MC600 to tackle tasks in areas previously inaccessible to smaller cobots and to handle heavier loads than MiR’s smaller MC250 AMR.
“By integrating the ‘legs’ of a mobile robot with the ‘arms’ of a cobot, the MC600 addresses multiple automation workflow challenges such as palletising and machine tending with one system,” says MiR’s president, Jean-Pierre Hathout. “While some companies have explored humanoid robots or one-off custom mobile cobot solutions for such tasks, they remain far from widespread industrial use. The MC600 is ready today to safely handle these complex automation challenges.”
The global market for mobile cobots is projected to grow at an annual rate of around 46% in the period to 2030, driven by the need for more efficient, flexible automation. Hathout believes that the MC600 is well-positioned to meet this demand, offering a proven, safe, and ready-to-deploy system designed for repeatability and ease-of-use.
The AMR can serve multiple machines and perform continuous material handling tasks. By taking over the movement of heavy goods from humans, MiR says that it improves ergonomics, reducing physical strain on workers and enhancing workplace safety.
The MC600 is controlled by a unified software platform supplied by MiR partner, Enabled Robotics, which coordinates its mobile base and arm, simplifying integration into existing workflows.
“The smaller MC250 has proven especially popular in semiconductor fabrication facilities and other lower-payload manufacturing tasks, but there’s been a clear demand for a mobile cobot that could handle heavier manufacturing applications,” says Ujjwal Kumar, group president of MiR and UR’s parent company, Teradyne Robotics. “The MC600 meets these requirements.”
