Balancing of parallel U-shaped assembly lines with a heuristic algorithm based on bidirectional priority values

Aiming at improving assembly line efficiency and flexibility, a balancing method of parallel U-shaped assembly line system is proposed. Based on the improved product priority diagram, the bidirectional priority value formula is obtained. Then, assembly lines are partitioned into z-q partitions and workstations are defined. After that, the mathematical model of the parallel U-shaped assembly line balancing problem is established. A heuristic algorithm based on bidirectional priority values is used to solve explanatory examples and test examples. It can be seen from the results and the effect indicators of the assembly line balancing problem that the heuristic algorithm is suitable for large balancing problems. The proposed method has higher calculation accuracy and shorter calculation time. The balancing effect of the parallel U-shaped assembly line is better than that of single U-shaped assembly line, which verifies the superiority of the parallel U-type assembly line and effectiveness of the proposed method. It provides a theoretical and practical reference for parallel U-type assembly line balancing problem.

Conducting product comparative analysis to outperform competitor’s product using Teardown JST Model

Due to the massive number of products being produced every year in every industry, firms have witnessed a tremendous growth in innovation of methods to create a sustainable competitive advantage. For the past decade and with the availability of online consumer reviews, companies and researchers have developed many approaches utilizing electronic Word-of-Mouth to improve and develop products and services to outperform competitors. The purpose of this study is to construct an effective method to perform a better product comparative analysis based on online consumer reviews. We propose a novel framework called Teardown Joint Sentiment-Topic analysis model consisting of a combination of text analytical approaches incorporated with a developed method of the traditional teardown analysis product comparative approach. The proposed approach is fully unsupervised model that employs Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic modeling to form topics which are classified according to their sentiments. Topics are then analyzed against competitive products and critical topics are identified using a developed teardown method. A case study analyzing online customer reviews of competing products in two domains (i.e., mobile phones and surveillance cameras) is conducted. The identified critical topics are further analyzed in view of products’ specifications perspective. We found that the detected aspects of the selected products are indeed critical, and hence, they need to be improved in order to gain a competitive advantage. The significant result of this study shows that the proposed method is effective in conducting products comparative analysis and provides valuable insights into utilizing the consumer reviews for product development.

Applications of affordance and cognitive ergonomics in virtual design: A digital camera as an illustrative case

Affordance-based design (ABD) plays an important role in identifying interactions, especially effortless ones, between users and artifacts. Cognitive ergonomics extends our understanding of this effortless interaction. This study combines the two design methodologies together in order to reduce cognitive friction in using digital products. The design process of a compact digital camera is selected as a case study that includes the design of the physical shape for a camera and of its user interface. In designing a product shape, a design toolbox was developed that integrated a modified multi-objective genetic algorithm and the ABD, which was named as affordance-based interactive genetic algorithm. Using this toolbox and interactive user feedback, the camera design evolves toward a product that better satisfies the users. User interfaces (UIs) including linear and elliptic layouts were subsequently designed based on cognitive ergonomics. A predictive tool of UI, the Cog Tool, was used to evaluate the performance of skilled users on a given task by correlating the overall task completion time. Finally, this research has the potential to not only effectively address the shortcomings of the design of consumer electronics but also enrich the generation of design solutions during the preliminary design phase of such products.

Knowledge capitalization in mechatronic collaborative design

In mechatronic collaborative design, there is a synergic integration of several expert domains, where heterogeneous knowledge needs to be shared. To address this challenge, ontology-based approaches are proposed as a solution to overtake this heterogeneity. However, dynamic exchange between design teams is overlooked. Consequently, parametric-based approaches are developed to use constraints and parameters consistently during collaborative design. The most valuable knowledge that needs to be capitalized, which we call crucial knowledge, is identified with informal solutions. Thus, a formal identification and extraction is required. In this paper, we propose a new methodology to formalize the interconnection between stakeholders and facilitate the extraction and capitalization of crucial knowledge during the collaboration, based on the mathematical theory ‘Category Theory’ (CT). Firstly, we present an overview of most used methods for crucial knowledge identification in the context of collaborative design as well as a brief review of CT basic concepts. Secondly, we propose a methodology to formally extract crucial knowledge based on some fundamental concepts of category theory. Finally, a case study is considered to validate the proposed methodology.

Connector-link-part-based disassembly sequence planning

Under the trend of concurrent engineering, the correspondence between functions and physical structures in product design is gaining importance. Between the functions and parts, connectors are the basic unit for engineers to consider. Moreover, the relationship between connector-liaison-part will help accomplish the integration of information. Such efforts will help the development of the Knowledge Intensive CAD (KICAD) system. Therefore, we proposed a Connector-liaison-part-based disassembly sequence planning (DSP) in this study. First, the authors construct a release diagram through an interference relationship to express the priority of disassembly between parts. The release diagram will allow designers to review the rationality of product disassembly planning. Then, the cost calculation method and disassembly time matrix are established. Last, the greedy algorithm is used to find an appropriate disassembly sequence and seek suggestions for design improvement. Through the reference information, the function and corresponding modules are improved, from which the disassembly value of a product can be reviewed from a functional perspective. In this study, a fixed support holder is used as an example to validate the proposed method. The discussion of the connector-liaison-part will help the integration of the DSP and the functional connector approach.

Bayesian approach to incremental batch learning on forest cover sensor data for multiclass classification

Deep neural networks can be used to perform nonlinear operations at multiple levels, such as a neural network that is composed of many hidden layers. Although deep learning approaches show good results, they have a drawback called catastrophic forgetting, which is a reduction in performance when a new class is added. Incremental learning is a learning method where existing knowledge should be retained even when new data is acquired. It involves learning with multiple batches of training data and the newer learning sessions do not require the data used in the previous iterations. The Bayesian approach to incremental learning uses the concept of the probability distribution of weights. The key idea of Bayes theorem is to find an updated distribution of weights and biases. In the Bayesian framework, the beliefs can be updated iteratively as the new data comes in. Bayesian framework allows to update the beliefs iteratively in real-time as data comes in. The Bayesian model for incremental learning showed an accuracy of 82%. The execution time for the Bayesian model was lesser on GPU (670 s) when compared to CPU (1165 s).

Resource utilization prediction technique in cloud using knowledge based ensemble random forest with LSTM model

Future computation of cloud datacenter resource usage is a provoking task due to dynamic and Business Critic workloads. Accurate prediction of cloud resource utilization through historical observation facilitates, effectively aligning the task with resources, estimating the capacity of a cloud server, applying intensive auto-scaling and controlling resource usage. As imprecise prediction of resources leads to either low or high provisioning of resources in the cloud. This paper focuses on solving this problem in a more proactive way. Most of the existing prediction models are based on a mono pattern of workload which is not suitable for handling peculiar workloads. The researchers address this problem by making use of a contemporary model to dynamically analyze the CPU utilization, so as to precisely estimate data center CPU utilization. The proposed design makes use of an Ensemble Random Forest-Long Short Term Memory based deep architectural models for resource estimation. This design preprocesses and trains data based on historical observation. The approach is analyzed by using a real cloud data set. The empirical interpretation depicts that the proposed design outperforms the previous approaches as it bears 30%–60% enhanced accuracy in resource utilization.

A discrete manufacturing SCOS framework based on functional interval parameters and fuzzy QoS attributes using moving window FPA

Manufacturing service composition and optimal selection (SCOS) is a key technology that improves resource utilization and reduces the cost in discrete manufacturing. However, the lack of evaluation of the service composition function and the unconformity of the actual composition vague characteristics, resulting in the incomplete evaluation of the service composition. Additionally, various optimization and selection algorithms have defects of premature convergence and low efficiency. At the same time, the fitness value distribution of the service composition has a non-linear characteristic. In this article, a framework called discrete manufacturing SCOS (DMSCOS) is proposed to overcome these issues. DMSCOS uses the functional interval parameter and fuzzy QoS attribute aware evaluation model (FIPFQA) to achieve composition evaluation and introduces a moving window flower pollination algorithm (MWFPA) to achieve optimization and selection for the non-linear characteristic population. Experiments show that DMSCOS has good performance for optimization and selection. The FIPFQA has a good effect on service composition evaluation. Furthermore, compared with two other extended algorithms, the proposed MWFPA performs better when addressing the optimal and selection problem.

Scene construction of nano particle system based on virtual technology

In view of the problems in traditional 3D scene simulation, such as the poor simulation effect and the inability to really feel the scene, this paper proposes the research of nano particle system scene construction based on virtual technology. By analyzing the advantages of virtual reality technology, the role of virtual reality in three-dimensional scene is determined; the method of three-dimensional geometry transformation is used to determine the scene building algorithm of virtual technology; the concept of nano particle system hierarchy is introduced to build nano particle subsystem with object-oriented concept. The functions of the system are mainly divided into system control module, user interaction module, scene management module, and nanoparticles management module. Based on the analysis of virtual technology and the construction of nano particle system, the construction of nano particle system scene based on virtual technology is realized. The experimental results show that: Based on the virtual technology, the nano particle system scene construction effect is better, and the scene construction time is less than 6 min, the work efficiency is higher, the scene is more realistic, and has a certain feasibility.