Optimal Subtask Allocation for Human and Robot Collaboration Within Hybrid Assembly System

In human and robot collaborative hybrid assembly cell as we proposed, it is important to develop automatic subtask allocation strategy for human and robot in usage of their advantages. We introduce a folk-joint task model that describes the sequential and parallel features and logic restriction of human and robot collaboration appropriately. To preserve a cost-effectiveness level of task allocation, we develop a logic mathematic method to quantitatively describe this discrete-event system by considering the system tradeoff between the assembly time cost and payment cost. A genetic based revolutionary algorithm is developed for real-time and reliable subtask allocation to meet the required cost-effectiveness. This task allocation strategy is built for a human worker and collaborates with various robot co-workers to meet the small production situation in future. The performance of proposed algorithm is experimentally studied, and the cost-effectiveness is analyzed comparatively on an electronic assembly case.

[1]  T.-J. Tarn,et al.  Integration of task scheduling, action planning, and control in robotic manufacturing systems , 2000, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[2]  Liliana Cucu-Grosjean,et al.  Integrating job parallelism in real-time scheduling theory , 2008, Inf. Process. Lett..

[3]  Wang Yi,et al.  Fixed-Priority Multiprocessor Scheduling: Critical Instant, Response Time and Utilization Bound , 2012, 2012 IEEE 26th International Parallel and Distributed Processing Symposium Workshops & PhD Forum.

[4]  Shahram Shadrokh,et al.  A genetic algorithm for resource investment project scheduling problem, tardiness permitted with penalty , 2007, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[5]  Marco Spuri,et al.  Scheduling aperiodic tasks in dynamic priority systems , 1996, Real-Time Systems.

[6]  C. A. Coello Coello,et al.  Evolutionary multi-objective optimization: a historical view of the field , 2006, IEEE Computational Intelligence Magazine.

[7]  MengChu Zhou,et al.  Deadlock control methods in automated manufacturing systems , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics - Part A: Systems and Humans.

[8]  Vikas Kumar,et al.  Task Scheduling in Multiprocessor System Using Genetic Algorithm , 2010, 2010 Second International Conference on Machine Learning and Computing.

[9]  E. Guizzo,et al.  The rise of the robot worker , 2012, IEEE Spectrum.

[10]  Kerstin Dautenhahn,et al.  Methodology & Themes of Human-Robot Interaction: A Growing Research Field , 2007 .

[11]  Jan Karel Lenstra,et al.  Scheduling subject to resource constraints: classification and complexity , 1983, Discret. Appl. Math..

[12]  Doug Lea,et al.  A Java fork/join framework , 2000, JAVA '00.

[13]  Alan Burns,et al.  A survey of hard real-time scheduling for multiprocessor systems , 2011, CSUR.

[14]  Jian Huang,et al.  Model-Based Intelligent Fault Detection and Diagnosis for Mating Electric Connectors in Robotic Wiring Harness Assembly Systems , 2008, IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics.

[15]  Harry E. Stephanou,et al.  A Multiscale Assembly and Packaging System for Manufacturing of Complex Micro-Nano Devices , 2012, IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering.

[16]  Alexander Verl,et al.  Cooperation of human and machines in assembly lines , 2009 .

[17]  Rosa Blanco,et al.  Theoretical and practical fundamentals for multi-objective optimisation in resource-constrained project scheduling problems , 2011, Comput. Oper. Res..

[18]  Alf Kimms,et al.  Optimization guided lower and upper bounds for the resource investment problem , 2001, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[19]  Sonja Stork,et al.  Artificial Cognition in Production Systems , 2011, IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering.

[20]  Nikos A. Aspragathos,et al.  Optimal robot task scheduling based on genetic algorithms , 2005 .

[21]  T. Archibald,et al.  The Return to Straight-Line Depreciation: An Analysis of a Change in Accounting Method , 1967 .

[22]  J. Geoffrey Chase,et al.  Human-Robot Collaboration: A Literature Review and Augmented Reality Approach in Design , 2008 .

[23]  Toshio Fukuda,et al.  Development of Production Robot System that can Assemble Products with Cable and Connector , 2011, J. Robotics Mechatronics.

[24]  Sönke Hartmann,et al.  A survey of variants and extensions of the resource-constrained project scheduling problem , 2010, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[25]  Joseph Y.-T. Leung,et al.  On the complexity of fixed-priority scheduling of periodic, real-time tasks , 1982, Perform. Evaluation.

[26]  SiegelHoward Jay,et al.  Task Matching and Scheduling in Heterogeneous Computing Environments Using a Genetic-Algorithm-Based Approach , 1997 .

[27]  Matthew Andrews,et al.  Probabilistic end-to-end delay bounds for earliest deadline first scheduling , 2000, Proceedings IEEE INFOCOM 2000. Conference on Computer Communications. Nineteenth Annual Joint Conference of the IEEE Computer and Communications Societies (Cat. No.00CH37064).

[28]  Krithi Ramamritham,et al.  Efficient Scheduling Algorithms for Real-Time Multiprocessor Systems , 1989, IEEE Trans. Parallel Distributed Syst..

[29]  Jacques Carlier,et al.  Handbook of Scheduling - Algorithms, Models, and Performance Analysis , 2004 .

[30]  Rolf H. Möhring,et al.  Minimizing Costs of Resource Requirements in Project Networks Subject to a Fixed Completion Time , 1984, Oper. Res..

[31]  P. Chitra,et al.  Modified genetic algorithm for multiobjective task scheduling on heterogeneous computing system , 2011, Int. J. Inf. Technol. Commun. Convergence.

[32]  Anurag Agarwal,et al.  A Neurogenetic approach for the resource-constrained project scheduling problem , 2011, Comput. Oper. Res..

[33]  Alin Albu-Schäffer,et al.  The KUKA-DLR Lightweight Robot arm - a new reference platform for robotics research and manufacturing , 2010, ISR/ROBOTIK.

[34]  D. S. Kim,et al.  A new heuristic for the multi-mode resource investment problem , 2005, J. Oper. Res. Soc..

[35]  Jian Huang,et al.  An assembly strategy scheduling method for human and robot coordinated cell manufacturing , 2011, Int. J. Intell. Comput. Cybern..

[36]  Jian Huang,et al.  Robust Model-Based Online Fault Detection for Mating Process of Electric Connectors in Robotic Wiring Harness Assembly Systems , 2010, IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology.

[37]  MengChu Zhou,et al.  Deadlock-Free Control of Automated Manufacturing Systems With Flexible Routes and Assembly Operations Using Petri Nets , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics.