Disassembly 4.0: A Review on Using Robotics in Disassembly Tasks as a Way of Automation

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. To successfully implement circular economy processes into present value chains, economic feasibility of disassembly processes is essential. Current developments in science and technology, such as artificial intelligence and Internet of Things, foster steep progression in the field of robotics. In this review, the current research on robotics in disassembly is investigated by a systematic literature review. The results were clustered in a framework system distinguishing between applied and basic research on the two main streams of disassembly automation research, namely, predefined processes and adapt-able, flexible automation. Review: While disassembly is one of the most important phases in the recycling process for the overall feasibility, it is still not in focus of automation approaches. This review covers current research directions and analyses the future development of robotics in disassembly to foster the transformation in this field using the latest technology.