An integrated MCDM method for robot selection under interval-valued Pythagorean uncertain linguistic environment

Robots have received considerable attention in many manufacturing companies due to their great capabilities and characteristics. Selecting an appropriate robot for a specific application can be regarded as a challenging multicriteria decision-making problem. Furthermore, decision makers are inclined to represent their opinions by using linguistic terms owing to their ambiguous thinking. In this regard, we put forward a novel robot selection model by integrating quality function development (QFD) theory and qualitative flexible multiple criteria method (QUALIFLEX) under interval-valued Pythagorean uncertain linguistic context. For the developed model, the evaluations given by decision makers are presented as interval-valued Pythagorean uncertain linguistic sets for dealing with the uncertainty and vagueness of decision makers’ information. An extended QFD method is used for determining criteria weights from the perspective of customers. A modified QUALIFLEX technique based on closeness degree is utilized to generate the ranking order of alternative robots and determine the most suitable one. Finally, an empirical example of an auto manufacturing company is applied to clarify the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed robot selection approach.