Ergonomic assessment of collaborative robot application based on IVIULWG operator

Area of Science:

• Industrial Engineering
• Human Factors Engineering
• Robotics

Background:

• Collaborative robots (Cobots) are increasingly used in manufacturing to boost productivity and reduce physical strain.
• Ensuring ergonomic compatibility between Cobots and human workers is a significant challenge.
• A comprehensive evaluation of Cobot ergonomics across physical, cognitive, and organizational aspects is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and implement a robust framework for assessing the ergonomic impact of Cobot integration in industrial environments.
• To address the complexities of integrating human operators with robotic systems.
• To provide a method for evaluating physical, cognitive, and organizational ergonomics in Cobot-human collaboration.

Main Methods:

• Developed a novel ergonomic evaluation framework utilizing the interval-valued intuitionistic uncertain fuzzy (IVIUF) method.
• Employed the interval-valued intuitionistic uncertain linguistic weighted geometric (IVIULWG) aggregation operator to combine diverse data types.
• Integrated quantitative measurements with qualitative expert judgments for comprehensive assessment.

Main Results:

• Dual-arm Cobots featuring integrated display interfaces demonstrated superior ergonomic performance.
• The IVIULWG method effectively preserved and synthesized both numerical and linguistic data during evaluation.
• The proposed framework proved effective in handling uncertainty and imprecision in ergonomic assessments.

Conclusions:

• The developed methodology offers a scientifically sound and practical approach for evaluating Cobot ergonomics.
• Findings support informed decision-making in the design and deployment of Cobots.
• This research contributes to creating safer, more sustainable, and ergonomically optimized industrial operations.