Computer aided robot selection: The ‘Multiple Attribute Decision Making’ approach

This paper presents an efficient approach for a computer-based solution to the problem of selection of an ‘optimum robot’ specifically to aid industries. The approach breaks new ground by applying Multiple Attribute Decision Making (MADM) ideology to equipment selection (robots) which is of consequence because selection is an implicit aspect of design. Indeed, the approach is also applicable to a robot design problem. The robot selection procedure allows rapid convergence from a very large number to a manageable shortlist of potentially suitable robots using an ‘elimination search’ routine based on a few pertinent attributes of the robots. Subsequently, the selection procedure proceeds to rank the alternatives in the shortlist by employing a MADM method termed TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution). An expert system has been developed as part of the software package to assist an inexperienced user to establish priorities, and to ‘oversee’ the selection process at various stages. The procedure is also illustrated by an example.