Criteria to consider in a decision model for collaborative robot (cobot) adoption: A literature review

Abstract

Collaborative robots are being increasingly used by manufacturing companies due to their potential to help companies cope with market volatility. Before introducing this technology, companies face the decision phase where they determine the investment feasibility. Decision models for cobot adoption can assist decision-makers in this task, but they require previous identification of decision criteria. Since existing literature overlooked this issue, this study aims to provide a list of decision criteria that can be considered in the cobot adoption decision process. These criteria were identified by a literature review of the benefits, advantages, and disadvantages of cobot adoption. Results show that flexibility, competitiveness, ergonomics, quality, safety, space, mobility, ease of programming, technical features, human-robot collaboration, and productivity are important aspects to consider when deciding whether to invest in cobots. The findings of this study provide a better understanding of the decision process for cobot adoption by listing decision criteria along with some indicators, which is an important input for the design of a decision-making process.