Human-robot collaboration in assembly line balancing problems: Review and research gaps

Researchers have been working on assembly line optimization problems, especially assembly line balancing, for decades. Integration of Industry 4.0 technologies into assembly lines creates new challenges in optimal resource selection, task allocation, line balance, and scheduling decisions, to name a few. Over the last decade, researchers have developed novel frameworks for conventional assembly line optimization problems that comply with the recent industrial revolution and leading technologies. State-of-the-art Balancing problems in assembly lines with collaborative robots are the core of this study as a key decision in Assembly 4.0. The collaboration of humans and robots in a fenceless environment requires a more comprehensive approach than the traditional task-station assignment in a balancing model. Resource selection/allocation and scheduling are the most common decisions that researchers combine with balancing models. Thus, the studies on all these optimization challenges in the last ten years through the Web of Science and Engineering Village are present in the current review. We analyze the articles’ statistics (e.g., year and journals) and contents to find the research trends and gaps for future research direction in collaborative robotic assembly line optimization which incorporates occupational health and safety.