An algorithm for optimizing the cost and efficiency of human-robot collaborative assembly lines

Credit: carlos aranda, Unsplash.com. Article by Ingrid Fadelli. Tech Xplore – January 15, 2021.

Robots are rapidly making their way into a variety of settings, including industrial and manufacturing facilities. So far, they have shown great potential for speeding up and automating a number of manufacturing processes by substituting or assisting human workers on assembly lines. To be adopted on a large scale, however, robots for manufacturing should be both efficient and relatively affordable.

Researchers at Wuhan University of Science and Technology and University of Leicester have recently developed an optimization technique that could help to optimize the cost and efficiency of multiple robots set to operate in assembly lines. This technique, presented in a paper published in Springer Link’s Neural Computing and Applications journal, is based on a metaheuristic algorithm known as migrating bird optimization algorithm, which is ideal for solving optimization problems due to its simplicity and flexibility in adapting to the nature of a problem. […]

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