A comparison of and critical review on cycle time estimation methods for human-robot work systems

Abstract

Although human-robot work systems seem promising in terms of addressing flexibility due to dynamic changes in market demands, SMEs often do not see their potential when it comes to cycle time requirements. The reason for this is the lack of planning methods capable of mapping dynamic interactions between humans and robots and thus supporting the design phase. This paper discusses different methods for cycle time estimation and explains their drawbacks in applying them. Cycle time values defined by existing estimation approaches vary up to 50% compared to cycle time values identified in real applications due to a number of shortcomings. The authors give examples of implications such as safety, task allocation, applied hardware or operator diversity and highlight requirements for a holistic human-robot cycle time estimation method to overcome the aforementioned challenges.