Processes to handle messy fabrics have not yet been automated in industrial field, for example, in the apparel, linen supply, and medical services industries. These businesses, however, require automated handling of messy fabrics, not only for efficiency but also for sanitary reasons. We have developed a mechanical system that can grasp, unfold, and position fabrics in a series of motions (Figure 1). Fabric setting process by a human consists of wiping, pinching, unfolding, and placing motions. This setting process can be performed using a single-armed robot with a gripper hand having four degrees of freedom. For grasping the fabric, the robotic gripper wrinkles part of it, causing residual deformation. During the unfolding motion, the robot can perform a pinching slip motion, in which fingertips slip on the fabric surface while grasping, similar to a human unfolding motion.
Fig.1: Unfolding Motion by A Robotic Hand
Movies
- Fabric handling system (MPEG 6.8MB)
- Mizuho Shibata, Tsuyoshi Ohta, and Shinichi Hirai, "Robotic Unfolding of Hemmed Fabric using Pinching Slip Motion", International Conference on Advanced Mechatronics 2010, pp.392-397，2010
- Mizuho Shibata, Tsuyoshi Ohta, and Shinichi Hirai, "Virtual Rope Theory for Fabric Manipulation", Proc. IEEE Int. Symposium on Assembly and Manufacturing, pp.28-33，2009
- Mizuho Shibata, Tsuyoshi Ota, and Shinichi Hirai, "Wiping Motion for Deformable Object Handling", Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation, pp.134-139, 2009
- Mizuho Shibata, Tsuyoshi Ota, Yoshimasa Endo, and Shinichi Hirai, "Handling of Hemmed Fabrics by a Single-Armed Robot", Proc. IEEE Conf. on Automation Science and Engineering, pp.882-887, 2008