Cheaper Robots are Helping Small Businesses Survive

The robotics wave began sweeping into automobile and other plants decades ago, stopping short of shops staffed with a relative handful of people. Many businesses couldn't afford the contraptions, which weren't designed to squeeze into tight spaces or operate very close to human beings. A Rethink Robotics Inc. Baxter robot operated by DHL, a unit of Deutsche Post AG. Technological advances have made industrial robots more compact and kinder. Collaborative models, members of a new generation called cobots, have sensors to prevent them from harming real-life colleagues.