Models and algorithms for U-shaped assembly line balancing problem with collaborative robots

Abstract The collaborative robots (cobots) are increasingly being utilized in industries due to the advancement field of robotic technology and also increase labor costs. cobots on assembly line can be complete tasks independently or assist workers tasks. This study considers U-shaped balancing problem with cobots, where several different purchasing costs selected under budget constraint. Three mixed-integer programming models formulated optimize cycle time, built capable solving small-sized instances optimally. Two algorithms, artificial bee colony algorithm migrating bird optimization algorithm, developed improved tackle large-sized instances, new encoding scheme decoding procedure for this problem. computational tests demonstrate that utilization reduces time effectively line. comparative a set shows proposed methodologies obtain competing performance comparison other 12 implemented algorithms.