On a shared human-robot task scheduling and online re-scheduling

Abstract

Human-Robot (HR) teams are expected to work more efficiently and interdependently compared to the manual non-added value manufacturing processes. This paper discusses a method for enabling the shared HR task scheduling and dynamic re-scheduling. Humans, robots, and HR teams are involved in the resources model, while the task sequence and the task precedence constraints consist of the workload model. An intelligent multi-criteria decision-making framework is proposed for evaluating alternative solutions for the shared HR task scheduling. Dynamic re-scheduling is possible in the cases of unexpected events during the execution of the task. The dynamic rescheduling is triggered by IEC61499 events generated in running time. The method has been implemented as a software tool in Java and has been demonstrated in the hybrid assembly of a vehicle turbocharger.