Industrial robots as handling systems ensure the automation of a process. Well-known robot systems are linear robots or gantry robots, SCARA robots, 6-axis articulated robots and delta robots or hexapod robots.

A more recent phenomenon is human-robot collaboration. Through so-called cobots or mobile robots, direct interaction with humans is possible. While classic robot systems are characterised by separating safety devices, cobots work with humans on a surface without separating safety shields such as safety fences.