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This paper establishes a quality model for automation assembly of range hood impeller based on generalized grey relational degree, it improves the debugging efficiency of the newly developed assembly workstation.

First, spot check the trial production impellers and obtain three indexes that reflect the assembly quality of the impellers. Then, analyze the parameters that affect the assembly quality of the impeller using grey relational analysis (GRA), establish a model for the assembly quality of the range hood impeller based on the generalized grey relational degree and identify the main parameters. After that, analyze the transmission structure of automation assembly workstation, identify the reasons that affect parameters and propose improvement plans. Finally, a trial production is conducted on the automation assembly workstation after adopting the improved plan to verify the quality model of impeller automation assembly.

The research shows that compared to manual assembly, the automation assembly quality of the impeller using GRA model has been improved, shortening the debugging cycle of the newly developed assembly workstation.

The newly developed automation equipment will have some problems in the trial production stage, which often rely on the experience of engineers for debugging. In this paper, the automation assembly quality model of range hood impeller based on GRA is established, which can not only ensure the quality of finished impeller but also shorten the debugging cycle of the equipment. In addition, GRA can be widely used in the commissioning of other automation equipment.

This study has developed a set of impeller automation assembly workstation. The debugging method in the trial production stage is beneficial to shorten the trial production time and improve the economic benefits.

Component positioning is an important part of aircraft assembly, aiming at the problem that it is difficult to accurately fall into the corresponding ball socket for the ball head connected with aircraft component. This study aims to propose a ball head adaptive positioning method based on impedance control.

First, a target impedance model for ball head positioning is constructed, and a reference positioning trajectory is generated online based on the contact force between the ball head and the ball socket. Second, the target impedance parameters were optimized based on the artificial fish swarm algorithm. Third, to improve the robustness of the impedance controller in unknown environments, a controller is designed based on model reference adaptive control (MRAC) theory and an adaptive impedance control model is built in the Simulink environment. Finally, a series of ball head positioning experiments are carried out.

During the positioning of the ball head, the contact force between the ball head and the ball socket is maintained at a low level. After the positioning, the horizontal contact force between the ball head and the socket is less than 2 N. When the position of the contact environment has the same change during ball head positioning, the contact force between the ball head and the ball socket under standard impedance control will increase to 44 N, while the contact force of the ball head and the ball socket under adaptive impedance control will only increase to 19 N.

In this paper, impedance control is used to decouple the force-position relationship of the ball head during positioning, which makes the entire process of ball head positioning complete under low stress conditions. At the same time, by constructing an adaptive impedance controller based on MRAC, the robustness of the positioning system under changes in the contact environment position is greatly improved.

By focusing on Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG 12) and tourism automation, this perspective paper aims to investigate how tourism and automation will work to create a world in which tourism has more sustainable production and consumption patterns.

This perspective paper reviews the past developments of automation in tourism in the context of sustainable production and consumption patterns, the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and looks at the future of tourism and how automation will help it be more sustainable in terms of consumption and production patterns.

The insights from this analysis suggest that automation technologies will play a major role in both the supply and demand sides of the tourism and hospitality industry, encouraging increased tourism sustainability. While automation technologies will have the greatest impact on the supply side in the near future, as such technologies will be used to minimise waste and energy usage, creating large gains for environmental protection, the technologies will also benefit responsible consumption. Big data and analytical technologies will work in ways to ensure that consumers are nudged into consumer practices that are increasingly sustainable.

This perspective paper synthesises the literature on the subjects, namely, automation and SDG 12 in tourism, and points to important new future research agenda. This is one of the first papers in tourism to blend automation and SDG 12 literature to shed light on the use of automation in sustainable consumption and production in tourism.

通过聚焦于可持续发展目标12和旅游自动化, 本前瞻性文章旨在探讨旅游业和自动化如何共同创造一个让旅游产业拥有更可持续的生产和消费模式的世界。

本文回顾了旅游自动化在可持续生产和消费模式背景下的发展, 从COVID-19大流行中学到的教训, 并展望旅游业的未来以及自动化如何帮助其在消费和生产模式方面变得更加可持续。

根据分析, 自动化技术将在旅游和酒店业的供求两侧发挥重要作用, 促进旅游业的可持续性发展。虽然自动化技术在近期内将对供应侧产生最大影响, 因为这些技术将被用来最小化废物和能源使用, 为环境保护创造巨大收益, 但这些技术也将惠及负责任消费。大数据和分析技术将以确保消费者被引导向越来越可持续的消费实践。

本前瞻性论文综合了关于旅游中的自动化和可持续发展目标12的文献, 并指出了重要的新的未来研究议程。这是旅游业中第一批结合自动化和可持终发展目标12文献以阐明旅游中可持续消费和生产的自动化使用的论文之一。

Al centrarse en el ODS12 y la automatización del turismo, este artículo de perspectiva pretende investigar cómo el turismo y la automatización trabajarán para crear un mundo en el que el turismo tenga unos patrones de producción y consumo más sostenibles.

Este artículo de perspectiva revisa los desarrollos pasados de la automatización en el turismo en el contexto de los patrones de producción y consumo sostenibles, las lecciones aprendidas de la pandemia COVID-19, y examina el futuro del turismo y cómo la automatización le ayudará a ser más sostenible en términos de patrones de consumo y producción.

Las conclusiones de este análisis sugieren que las tecnologías de automatización desempeñarán un papel importante tanto en la oferta como en la demanda de la industria del turismo y la hotelería, fomentando una mayor sostenibilidad del turismo. Mientras que las tecnologías de automatización tendrán el mayor impacto en el lado de la oferta en un futuro próximo, ya que dichas tecnologías se utilizarán para minimizar los residuos y el uso de energía, creando grandes ganancias para la protección del medio ambiente, las tecnologías también beneficiarán al consumo responsable. Los macrodatos y las tecnologías analíticas funcionarán de manera que se incite a los consumidores a adoptar prácticas de consumo cada vez más sostenibles.

Este documento de perspectiva sintetiza la bibliografía sobre los temas, a saber, la automatización y el ODS12 en el turismo, y apunta a una nueva e importante agenda de investigación futura. Se trata de uno de los primeros trabajos sobre turismo que combina la literatura sobre automatización y ODS12 para arrojar luz sobre el uso de la automatización en el consumo y la producción sostenibles en el turismo.

Presently, 6 Degree of Freedom (6DOF) visual pose measurement methods enjoy popularity in the industrial sector. However, challenges persist in accurately measuring the visual pose of blank and rough metal casts. Therefore, this paper introduces a 6DOF pose measurement method utilizing stereo vision, and aims to the 6DOF pose measurement of blank and rough metal casts.

This paper studies the 6DOF pose measurement of metal casts from three aspects: sample enhancement of industrial objects, optimization of detector and attention mechanism. Virtual reality technology is used for sample enhancement of metal casts, which solves the problem of large-scale sample sampling in industrial application. The method also includes a novel deep learning detector that uses multiple key points on the object surface as regression objects to detect industrial objects with rotation characteristics. By introducing a mixed paths attention module, the detection accuracy of the detector and the convergence speed of the training are improved.

The experimental results show that the proposed method has a better detection effect for metal casts with smaller size scaling and rotation characteristics.

A method for 6DOF pose measurement of industrial objects is proposed, which realizes the pose measurement and grasping of metal blanks and rough machined casts by industrial robots.

The Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is considered a standard for measuring equipment productivity in terms of efficiency. Still, Artificial Intelligence solutions are rarely used for analyzing OEE results and identifying corrective actions. Therefore, the approach proposed in this paper aims to provide a new rule-based Machine Learning (ML) framework for OEE enhancement and the selection of improvement actions.

Association Rules (ARs) are used as a rule-based ML method for extracting knowledge from huge data. First, the dominant loss class is identified and traditional methodologies are used with ARs for anomaly classification and prioritization. Once selected priority anomalies, a detailed analysis is conducted to investigate their influence on the OEE loss factors using ARs and Network Analysis (NA). Then, a Deming Cycle is used as a roadmap for applying the proposed methodology, testing and implementing proactive actions by monitoring the OEE variation.

The method proposed in this work has also been tested in an automotive company for framework validation and impact measuring. In particular, results highlighted that the rule-based ML methodology for OEE improvement addressed seven anomalies within a year through appropriate proactive actions: on average, each action has ensured an OEE gain of 5.4%.

The originality is related to the dual application of association rules in two different ways for extracting knowledge from the overall OEE. In particular, the co-occurrences of priority anomalies and their impact on asset Availability, Performance and Quality are investigated.

The purpose of this article is to develop a bi-directional relaxed flexible bay structure (BRFBS) in the layout for the unequal area facility layout problems (UA-FLPs) and test the suitability of the proposed approach using literature data.

This research adopts a two-stage solution approach for UA-FLPs to form BRFBS in the layout. The solution to UA-FLPs is carried out in discrete space. The proposed heuristic method optimises the layout plan for minimising the material handling cost (MHC), and also, it indirectly optimises the space utilisation by reducing the empty space in the layout. The first stage of layout design assumes that all facilities are equal in size and uses quadratic assignment problem (QAP) model. QAP is solved with a simulated annealing heuristic method. In the second stage, a heuristic method is proposed to find the optimum width for each bay and the dimension for facilities. The proposed heuristic method is tested with numerical data available in the literature. Results are compared with the results obtained by layout planning software, and with the simulated annealing algorithm for flexible bay structure (SA-FBS) heuristic procedure for continuous space UA-FLPs.

The proposed two-stage solution approach gives the BRFBS for the UA-FLPs. BRFBS helps to create proper aisle structure in the layout plan. The layout configuration and solution of the proposed method is better than the layout planning software solution and SA-FBS solution. The application of the proposed heuristic method to case data gave lesser MHC, better space utilisation and better aisle formation than the existing layout.

The proposed approach has the limitation that it can be applied only to UA-FLPs solved in discrete space. When the UA-FLPs are solved in continuous space, then it is not possible to make application of this approach to form bi-directional relaxed flexible bays in the layout plan.

Most of the modern industries are automated, and they use material handling equipment (MHE) like automated guided vehicles (AGVs). Design of layout plans that help to create proper aisle structure for AGV’s in the layout plan is a challenging to the researchers. The BRFBS configuration is more suitable in the flexible manufacturing system where AGVs are used for material transportation.

This paper proposes a novel two-stage heuristic method for solving the UA-FLPs in discrete space. The proposed approach generates a BRFBS in the layout plan. The BRFBS helps to create a proper aisle structure suitable for better material handling operations. Hence, this type of layout helps in easy interaction of the MHE (e.g. AGVs) with the boundaries of the facilities touching the aisle.

This paper uses dialectical inquiry to explore tensions that arise when adopting Industry 4.0 technologies in a lean production system and their reconciliation mechanisms.

We conducted an in-depth qualitative case study over a 3-year period on an Italian division of an international electrotechnical organisation that produces electrical switches. This organisation successfully adopted Industry 4.0 technologies in a lean production system. The study is based on primary data such as observations and semi-structured interviews, along with secondary data.

We identify four empirically validated dialectic tensions arising across different Industry 4.0 adoption stages due to managers’ and workers’ contrasting interpretations of technologies. Consequently, we define the related reconciliation mechanisms that allow the effective adoption of various Industry 4.0 technologies to support a lean production system.

This is the first empirical investigation of tensions in the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies in a lean production system. Furthermore, the paper presents four theoretical propositions and a conceptual model describing which tensions arise during the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies in a lean production system and the reconciliation mechanisms that prevent lean production system deterioration.

This paper aim to solve the problem of low assembly success rate for 3c assembly lines designed based on classical control algorithms due to inevitable random disturbances and other factors,by incorporating intelligent algorithms into the assembly line, the assembly process can be extended to uncertain assembly scenarios.

This work proposes a reinforcement learning framework based on digital twins. First, the authors used Unity3D to build a simulation environment that matches the real scene and achieved data synchronization between the real environment and the simulation environment through the robot operating system. Then, the authors trained the reinforcement learning model in the simulation environment. Finally, by creating a digital twin environment, the authors transferred the skill learned from the simulation to the real environment and achieved stable algorithm deployment in real-world scenarios.

In this work, the authors have completed the transfer of skill-learning algorithms from virtual to real environments by establishing a digital twin environment. On the one hand, the experiment proves the progressiveness of the algorithm and the feasibility of the application of digital twins in reinforcement learning transfer. On the other hand, the experimental results also provide reference for the application of digital twins in 3C assembly scenarios.

In this work, the authors designed a new encoder structure in the simulation environment to encode image information, which improved the model’s perception of the environment. At the same time, the authors used the fixed strategy combined with the reinforcement learning strategy to learn skills, which improved the rate of convergence and stability of skills learning. Finally, the authors transferred the learned skills to the physical platform through digital twin technology and realized the safe operation of the flexible printed circuit assembly task.

Amidst the complicated nature of the UAE’s facilities management (FM) industry, the need to recalibrate the existing performance measurement (PM) system measures and criteria has been resonating to ensure their ability to capture the FM industry trends and dynamics, thus enhancing organizational excellence. Therefore, this research aimed to propose a specific PM tool to the country’s FM industry to accurately assess performance and establish strategic enhancements.

The study reviewed literature on the available PM systems to gather the available measures, which were presented to a focus group of seven participants, who were purposively selected based on their expertise in FM and PM implementation in the UAE to adjust them and add ones relevant to the UAE’s FM industry.

The focus group conducted various changes, from retaining certain measures and criteria, renaming them to simplify or make them more representative of the industry, ranking them based on their importance to limit their numbers, to finally categorizing them as enablers or results. Consequently, the final proposed tool was composed of nine dimensions with 51 measures as performance enablers and three dimensions with 11 measures as performance results. Seven measures were added by the experts, who highlighted their increasing popularity in the UAE’s FM industry.

Through addressing the critical void in literature, this paper develops a specific PM tool aligning with the intricacy of the UAE’s FM industry, thus providing proactive contribution to the industry’s effective and sustainable growth.

This paper aims to enable the analysts of reliability and safety systems to evaluate the risk and prioritize failure modes ideally to prefer measures for reducing the risk of undesired events.

To address the constraints considered in the conventional failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) method for criticality assessment, the authors propose a new hybrid model combining different multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods. The analytical hierarchy process (AHP) is used to construct a criticality matrix and calculate the weights of different criteria based on five criticalities: personnel, equipment, time, cost and quality. In addition, a preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluation (PROMETHEE) method is used to improve the prioritization of the failure modes. A comparative work in which the robust data envelopment analysis (RDEA)-FMEA approach was used to evaluate the validity and effectiveness of the suggested approach and simplify the comparative analysis.

This work aims to highlight the real case study of the automotive parts industry. Using this analysis enables assessing the risk efficiently and gives an alternative ranking to that acquired by the traditional FMEA method. The obtained findings offer that combining of two multi-criteria decision approaches and integrating their outcomes allow for instilling confidence in decision-makers concerning the risk assessment and the ranking of the different failure modes.

This research gives encouraging outcomes concerning the risk assessment and failure modes ranking in order to reduce the frequency of occurrence and gravity of the undesired events by handling different forms of uncertainty and divergent judgments of experts.