Application of MEREC in multi-criteria selection of optimal spray-painting robot

Abstract

Robots are being increasingly utilized for various operations in industrial and household applications. One such application is for spray painting, wherein atomized paint particles are sprayed on a surface to coat the surface with paint. As there are different models of robots available for the job, it becomes crucial to select the best among them. Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques are widely used in various fields to tackle selection problems where there are many conflicting criteria and several alternatives. This work focuses on selecting the best robot among twelve alternatives based on seven criteria, among which payload, speed, and reach are beneficial criteria while mechanical weight, repeatability, cost, and power consumption are cost criteria. Five MCDM techniques, namely combination distance-based assessment (CODAS), complex proportional assessment (COPRAS), combined compromise solution (CoCoSo), multi-attributive border approximation area comparison (MABAC), and visekriterijumsko kompromisno rangiranje (VIKOR) were used for the selection while a weight calculation was performed using an objective weight calculation technique called MEREC. HY1010A-143 was found to be the most suitable robot for spray-painting applications by four of the five techniques used. Correlation studies showed a significant level of correlation among all the MCDM techniques.