Hybrid algorithm based scheduling optimization in robotic cell with dual-gripper

Abstract

With the maturity of the industrial robotic technology, robotic cells are gradually regarded as a kind of stand equipment to replace human work in every walk of life. How to obtain the maximum or approximate maximum throughput in a robotic cell is always the highlighted goal, especially in the rapid growing 3C industry market. In this paper, the objective is to get a 1-unit cycle sequence of robot actions that approximately minimizes the cycle time to produce a part and maximizes the throughput by using a new hybrid algorithm in the robotic cell with a dual-gripper robot. In this algorithm, different constrains are considered during computing the cycle time, including free/non-free process, allowed time window. The resulting diagrams provide very intuitive insights into the accuracy of the hybrid algorithm compared with the exact algorithm. Additional 100 simulation results prove the effectiveness of the hybrid algorithm, with a solid performance to achieve the maximum productivity of robotic cell.

Challenges and key technologies in robotic cell layout design and optimization

“…78,79 Also, the scheduling problem for a two-machine robotic cell is studied in Adb et al 80 To overcome the disjunction to sophisticated real practical cases by supposing the travel time to be either constant or additive in previous work, the scheduling solutions for both simple and parallel workstation cells with changing travelling time are implemented in our previous work. 24,25 In Kolakowska et al, 81 Taguchi method has been used to reduce the minimum number of experiments required for scheduling a robotic cell, by considering the sequencing rule, dispatching rule, cell utilization and due date tightness. Another feasible solution to minimize the cycle time, proposed in Zhang et al, 82 is by means of handling the duration of an ''intertask'', corresponding to the process of relocating and reorienting the robot arm from one task to the next one.…”