An integrated fuzzy MCDM approach based on Bonferroni functions for selection and evaluation of industrial robots for the automobile manufacturing industry

Abstract

In recent years, there have been dramatic changes in manufacturing systems in many industries depending on technological developments. Robotics is one of the essential components of these changes. Today, the usage of robotics in manufacturing processes has become widespread in almost all industries. Also, it has become a very strong desire ever-increasing for even small and medium-sized enterprises at present. Almost all the previous studies emphasized that industrial robot selection is a highly complex decision-making problem as there are many conflicting factors and criteria. Besides, different and advanced specifications of these robotics added by robotic manufacturers have caused to increase the complexities much more. Hence, decision-makers encounter more complicated decision-making problems affected by many uncertainties. Because of that, an integrated fuzzy group MCDM framework can help overcome many ambiguities proposed in the current paper. The proposed fuzzy integrated model consists of the fuzzy SWARA (F-SWARA'B) and the fuzzy CoCoSo (F-CoCoSo'B), which are extended with the help of the Bonferroni function. The model selected the appropriate industrial robotics used in the automotive industry by considering 15 criteria and ten alternatives. According to the result of the study, the three most significant criteria have been determined: Working Accuracy, Reaching Distance, and Performance; and the most suitable option is the A8. The obtained results were validated with the help of a comprehensive sensitivity analysis consisting of different 150 scenarios. The results are also compared with some existing techniques. The sensitivity analysis results approve the validity and applicability of the proposed model.