ABB Expands Its Robotics Leadership in China with Three New Robot Families

ABB, a global leader in automation and robotics, has announced the launch of three new robot families designed to meet the growing needs of China’s fast-expanding manufacturing sectors, including electronics, consumer goods, and general industries.

This move is part of ABB’s “local for local” strategy, which focuses on producing solutions within China for the Chinese market. All three new robots are manufactured at ABB’s state-of-the-art Shanghai Mega Factory and powered by the advanced OmniCore™ control platform, enabling seamless integration with AI, sensors, cloud, and edge computing.

Meet the New Robot Families:

• Lite+
  Designed for basic material handling and pick-and-place tasks, Lite+ is compact and user-friendly. It lowers the barriers to automation for small businesses and integrates easily with other IRB robots to create complete, flexible production lines.

• PoWa
  A compact collaborative robot (cobot) built for speed and simplicity. With industrial-grade speeds of up to 5.8 m/s, PoWa is ideal for fast-paced tasks like palletizing and machine tending. Thanks to its no-code programming and plug-and-play setup, it can be up and running within 60 minutes, making it especially appealing to SMEs.

• IRB 1200 (New Generation)
  The updated IRB 1200 is around 20% lighter and more compact than its predecessor, making it perfect for high-speed, high-precision applications like assembly, polishing, and dispensing. Its smaller footprint helps manufacturers design more space-efficient and productive cells.

Innovation Backed by ABB’s Powerful Platform

All three robots run on the OmniCore™ controller, giving them access to ABB’s industry-leading tools such as RobotStudio® for simulation and programming. This integration enables smarter, faster, and more autonomous robotic applications.

Source:
ABB Group Press Release – “ABB strengthens China robotics leadership with three new robot families”, July 2, 2025.