Global demand for collaborative robots has turned weak due to the coronavirus pandemic and the stagnancy is expected to remain until year-end 2020 or early 2021, according to Mark E Jagiela, president and CEO of Teradyne.

The pandemic has disrupted production at factories in the US and Europe and many manufacturers have stopped testing or installing cobots, said Jagiela, whose company is the parent company of cobot vendor Universal Robots.

Universal Robots' sales in the China market significantly rebounded in March 2020 and demand there turned strong in the second quarter, Jagiela noted, adding that demand in the US and Europe markets may rebound in the third quarter.

Universal Robots' monthly sales gradually improved in second-quarter 2020 and are expected to grow on year beginning in fourth-quarter 2020 or first-quarter 2021, Jagiela indicated.

Taiwan-based Techman Robot also has seen weaker-than-expected cobot sales due to the pandemic.