Generation of optimized robotic assembly sequence using ant colony optimization

Abstract

A robotic assembly sequence is considered to be optimal when it minimizes assembly cost and satisfies the process constraints. The assembly cost relates to assembly operations, assembly motions and assembly direction changes. The present work utilizes an ant colony optimization (ACO) method for generation of optimized robotic assembly sequences. The method reflects the assembly cost to an energy function associated with the assembly sequence. The energy function is iteratively minimized by ACO to generate the desired optimized assembly sequence. A case study is presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.