Add-on kit gives cobots ‘eyes and ears’
14 April 2025 
At the recent Hannover Messe, Delta Electronics unveiled an add-on for its D-Bot series cobots (collaborative robots) that gives them advanced capabilities such as 3D vision, multimodal AI, and the ability to respond to voice commands, thus enhancing their performance, flexibility and safety.
The Cognibot kit, which installs on the robot’s flange, includes:
- a 360-degree microphone array that enables precise recognition of voice commands;
- a 3D vision sensor that provides accurate object recognition and gesture control;
- a loudspeaker that delivers acoustic feedback to enhance user interactions;
- a “Power AI Box” that facilitates multimodal AI interaction; and
- Wi-Fi connectivity, which eliminates the need for additional data cables and increases flexibility.
“Through integration with leading digital-twin platform technology, we have bridged the gap between our D-Bot series cobots and the field of AI, essentially enhancing our cobots’ ‘brain’,” says Michael Mayer-Rosa, senior director of Delta’s Industrial Automation Business Group in the EMEA region, and global head of its Intelligent Robot Systems (IRS) business. “With the Cognibot Kit, we are now taking the next step by providing our cobots with ‘eyes’ and ‘ears.’ We are also significantly expanding our IRS team at our Stuttgart site to better serve our customers.
“The Cognibot kit makes cognitive robotics accessible to companies of all sizes,” he adds. “This is particularly beneficial for countries like Germany, where medium-sized enterprises are prevalent and face labour shortages. The ease of integration into existing environments was a key focus, enabling smaller companies to leverage the efficiency and flexibility of automation in production, logistics and service at a cost-effective solution.”
