A DECISION-ANALYSIS VIEW OF THE EFFECT OF ROBOT REPEATABILITY ON PROFIT

The purpose of this paper is to view recent developments in non-von Ne umann and Morgenstern utility functions (vNM) via a stationary statist ical-economic model. Such a model is suggested in the literature for e valuating robot precision, assuming that repeatability follows a Rayle igh distribution. Various vNM and non-vNM utility forms are discussed and illustrated for the robot evaluation and selection problem. The ap proach suggested here may be applicable for companies operating under profit centers where market systematic risk data are not available and decisions are based on the decision maker's (DM) attitude toward risk . Although the numerical illustrations demonstrate a consistency among the expected profit measure for most utility forms that were investig ated, the analysis provides an extended framework for dealing with ris ky production problems. Furthermore, it illustrates the sensitivity of robot operational decisions such as speed and of both the output rate per time unit and the product quality to the DM's attitude toward ris k. It allows the DM to analyze and explain decisions as affected by th e selection of the utility form, as well as the technological and econ omic parameters and measures describing the problem, particularly the technical risk involved in the determination of a robot operational pr oblem.