Optimal layout planning for human robot collaborative assembly systems and visualization through immersive technologies

Abstract

The deployment of Industry 4.0 emerging technologies such as Augmented reality (AR), Virtual reality (VR), and collaborative Robots enhances flexibility and precision in the manufacturing systems. A flexible, and collaborative manufacturing system with robots and human integrates the prominent attributes of customized automation and fortify the safety of the human workforce. The proposed work involves the approach of AR-assisted assembly layout configurations for the Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC) production system, which is a typical example of the smart manufacturing system. The reconfiguration/configuration of the assembly layout is triggered with respect to the demand of new variants into the market and the upgradation of new technologies in the existing system. A multi-objective algorithm is proposed to maximize the production outlet with effective utilization of floor space, minimum idle time and optimum resource allocation. The selected work is branched into three phases: To begin with, the approach of task allocation is constructed to identify the suitable resources (human, robot) for the appropriate assembly tasks in the HRC system. The outcomes such as resource allocation, number of resources, and footprint of resources are considered as input to the optimization model. Further, modified particle swarm optimization (MPSO) is deployed to generate a feasible assembly layout for the HRC manufacturing system. Additionally, the breath-first approach has been utilized to generate the optimal aisle as a conveyor in the layout. Notably, the comparisons studies have been carried out in this work, which facilitates to explore the robustness of proposed modified PSO algorithms for the selected applications. Subsequently, the virtual and AR tool is deployed for the layout planer to explore and validate the obtained layout from the PSO model in both the virtual and physical environment of the industrial workspace. Finally, an industrial case study of rotary gear pump assembly system is adopted for the implementation of the proposed framework.