Application, Development and Future Opportunities of Collaborative Robots (Cobots) in Manufacturing: A Literature Review

Abstract

The rapid development of robot technology has introduced a substantial impact on manufacturing. Numerous studies have been carried out to apply collaborative robots (cobots) to address manufacturing productivity and ergonomics issues, which has brought extensive opportunities. In this context, a systematic literature search in the Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases was carried out by electronic and manual search. Thus, 59 relevant contributions out of 4488 studies were analyzed by using preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA). To provide an overview of the different results, studies are summarized according to the following criteria: country, author, year, study design, robot category, results, and future opportunities. The effects of cobots on safety, system design, workplace design, task scheduling, productivity, and ergonomics are discussed to provide a better understanding of the application of cobots in manufacturing. To incentive future research, this paper reviews the development of cobots in manufacturing and discusses future opportunities and directions from cobots and manufacturing system perspectives. This paper provides novel and valuable insights into cobots application and illustrates potential developments of future human-cobot interaction.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Dr. Runyu Greene, for her valuable contribution to this work.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 72071035 and 71771045.

Notes on contributors

Li Liu

Li Liu is a Ph.D. student, at the Department of Industrial Engineering, School of Business Administration, Northeastern University, China. She obtained her Master degree in Human Factors from Northeastern University in 2018. Her research interests include Human Factors, Biomechanical engineering, Musculoskeletal disorders and human-computer interaction.

Fu Guo

Fu Guo is a professor of Industrial Engineering at the School of Business Administration, Northeastern University, China. She obtained her Ph.D. in Human Factors from Northeastern University in 2006. Her research interests include User Experience Design, Human-Computer Interaction, Occupational Safety and Health.

Zishuai Zou

Zishuai Zou is a Ph.D. student, at the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, School of, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. He obtained his Master degree in Human Factors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2020. His research interests include Human Factors, Computer Vision, and Human-Computer Interaction.

Vincent G. Duffy

Vincent G. Duffy is an associate professor of Industrial Engineering at the School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University, the United States. He obtained his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University in 1996. His research interests include digital human modeling, work methods and measurement, and ergonomics.