ABSTRACT

For manual picking processes in warehouses and assembly line feeding, collaborative robots – cobots – hold a potential to support operators and, thereby, enhance performance. However, studies focused on the economic aspects of cobot applications have been scarce. The present paper aims at modelling a new picking system, in which human operators collaborate with cobots during picking (or kitting) activities. It is considered the case of having a cobot on board of the picking trolley or cart, working in parallel with the picker by performing sorting of the picked items. The paper focuses on the economic aspects of this application and presents a model of the relative cost difference between a manual and a cobot-supported process, accounting for the costs associated with operators, equipment, and quality. The relative cost difference is analysed in a numerical example. The findings suggest that the decision to use a cobot sorting mode is robust when there is considerable sorting work to carry out, for example, when there are higher yearly order volumes to handle, and when higher order commonality among orders processed as a batch can be achieved. Future research should focus on implementation challenges and safety issues associated with cobot-supported picking processes.

摘要

对于仓库和装配线进料中的手动拣选流程，协作机器人（cobots）具有支持操作员的潜力，从而提高绩效。然而，专注于协作机器人应用的经济方面的研究很少。本论文旨在对一种新的拣选系统进行建模，在该系统中，人类操作员在拣选（或装备）活动期间与协作机器人协作。这被认为是在拣选手推车或手推车上装有协作机器人，通过对拣选的物品进行分类，与拣选员并行工作的情况。该论文侧重于该应用程序的经济方面，并提出了手动和协作机器人支持的过程之间相对成本差异的模型，考虑了与操作员、设备和质量相关的成本。在一个数值例子中分析了相对成本差异。研究结果表明，当有大量的分拣工作需要执行时，使用协作机器人分拣模式的决定是可靠的，例如，当需要处理更高的年度订单量时，以及当作为批次处理的订单之间的订单通用性更高时达到了。未来的研究应侧重于与协作机器人支持的拣选流程相关的实施挑战和安全问题。