Clothes Folding Task by Tool-Using Robot

Fumiaki Osawa; Hiroaki Seki; Yoshitsugu Kamiya

doi:10.20965/jrm.2006.p0618

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JRM Vol.18 No.5 pp. 618-625

doi: 10.20965/jrm.2006.p0618

(2006)

Paper:

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Clothes Folding Task by Tool-Using Robot

Fumiaki Osawa^*, Hiroaki Seki^, and Yoshitsugu Kamiya^

^*Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Daido Institute of Technology, 10-3 Takiharu-cho, Minami-ku, Nagoya 457-8530, Japan

^**Faculty of Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1192, Japan

Received:

February 14, 2006

Accepted:

March 24, 2006

Published:

October 20, 2006

Keywords:

home service robot, clothes, handling, folding, tool

Abstract

Dropping birth rates and the aging of society are expected to lead to the increasing use of robots in the home to assist in housework and family care. We target a robot that folds and stacks laundry. On the other hand, fabrics variably change in their shapes and, thus, the robot is difficult to handle them. Therefore, this paper proposes the system for folding a variety of clothes by a collective behavior of a tool and the robot. The tool has a function to bend and double clothes by using a plate. The robot positions clothes on the tool to ensure correct folding at the intended location. Our robot model automatically adjusts the positioning and course of folding, as detailed below, and checks progress based on visual information. A folding experiment confirmed the feasibility of our proposal.

Cite this article as:

F. Osawa, H. Seki, and Y. Kamiya, “Clothes Folding Task by Tool-Using Robot,” J. Robot. Mechatron., Vol.18 No.5, pp. 618-625, 2006.

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References

[1] M. Whittaker, “HANDY1 Robotic Aid to Eating: A Study in Social Impact,” Proc. RESNA Int.’92, pp. 589-594, 1992.
[2] G. Verburg et al., “An Evaluation of the MANUS Wheelchair Mounted Manipulator,” Proc. RESNA Int.’92, pp. 602-604, 1992.
[3] P. M. Taylor, “Sensory Robotics for the Handling of Limp Materials,” Springer-Verlag, 1990.
[4] G. J. Monkman, “Robot Grippers for Use with Fibrous Materials,” Int. Jour. of Robotics Research, Vol.14, No.2, pp. 144-151, 1995.
[5] N. Fahantidis et al., “Robot handling of Flat Textile Materials,” IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine, pp. 34-41, March, 1997.
[6] E. Torgerson and F. W. Paul, “Vision Guided Robotic Manipulation for Apparel Manufacturing,” Proc. 1987 IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation, Vol.2, pp. 1196-1202, 1987.
[7] K. Paraschidis et al., “A Robotic System for Handling Textile Materials,” Proc. 1995 IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation, Vol.3, pp. 1769-1774, 1995.
[8] T. Kabaya and M. Kakikura, “Service Robot for Housekeeping –Clothing Handling–,” Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, Vol.10, No.3, pp. 252-257, 1998.
[9] E. Ono et al., “Unfolding a Folded Fabric Using Information of Outline with Vision and touch Sensor,” Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan, Vol.15, No.2, pp. 275-283, 1997.
[10] K. Hamajima and M. Kakikura, “Planning Strategy for Task Untangling Laundry –Isolating Clothes from a Washed Mass–,” Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, Vol.10, No.3, pp. 244-251, 1998.
[11] K. Hamajima and M. Kakikura, “Planning Strategy for Task of Unfolding Clothes –Classification of Clothes–,” Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, Vol.12. No.5, pp. 577-584, 2000.
[12] F. Osawa and M. Kakikura, “A Design Method for Effective Grasping of Washed Clothes,” Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan, Vol.19, No.6, pp. 59-67, 2001.
[13] M. Takano et al., “Development of Indoor Movile Robot System Based on RECS Concept,” Proc of 4th Int. Conf. on Automation, Robotics and Computer Vision, pp. 868-872, 1996.
[14] F. Osawa, H. Seki, and Y. Kamiya, “Laundering Tasks Performed by a Robot –Spreading Out and Sorting of Crumpled the Clothes–,” Japan-USA Symposium on Flexible Automation, JS017, 2004.

This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationa License.

[1] [1] M. Whittaker, “HANDY1 Robotic Aid to Eating: A Study in Social Impact,” Proc. RESNA Int.’92, pp. 589-594, 1992.

[2] [2] G. Verburg et al., “An Evaluation of the MANUS Wheelchair Mounted Manipulator,” Proc. RESNA Int.’92, pp. 602-604, 1992.

[3] [3] P. M. Taylor, “Sensory Robotics for the Handling of Limp Materials,” Springer-Verlag, 1990.

[4] [4] G. J. Monkman, “Robot Grippers for Use with Fibrous Materials,” Int. Jour. of Robotics Research, Vol.14, No.2, pp. 144-151, 1995.

[5] [5] N. Fahantidis et al., “Robot handling of Flat Textile Materials,” IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine, pp. 34-41, March, 1997.

[6] [6] E. Torgerson and F. W. Paul, “Vision Guided Robotic Manipulation for Apparel Manufacturing,” Proc. 1987 IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation, Vol.2, pp. 1196-1202, 1987.

[7] [7] K. Paraschidis et al., “A Robotic System for Handling Textile Materials,” Proc. 1995 IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation, Vol.3, pp. 1769-1774, 1995.

[8] [8] T. Kabaya and M. Kakikura, “Service Robot for Housekeeping –Clothing Handling–,” Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, Vol.10, No.3, pp. 252-257, 1998.

[9] [9] E. Ono et al., “Unfolding a Folded Fabric Using Information of Outline with Vision and touch Sensor,” Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan, Vol.15, No.2, pp. 275-283, 1997.

[10] [10] K. Hamajima and M. Kakikura, “Planning Strategy for Task Untangling Laundry –Isolating Clothes from a Washed Mass–,” Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, Vol.10, No.3, pp. 244-251, 1998.

[11] [11] K. Hamajima and M. Kakikura, “Planning Strategy for Task of Unfolding Clothes –Classification of Clothes–,” Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, Vol.12. No.5, pp. 577-584, 2000.

[12] [12] F. Osawa and M. Kakikura, “A Design Method for Effective Grasping of Washed Clothes,” Journal of the Robotics Society of Japan, Vol.19, No.6, pp. 59-67, 2001.

[13] [13] M. Takano et al., “Development of Indoor Movile Robot System Based on RECS Concept,” Proc of 4th Int. Conf. on Automation, Robotics and Computer Vision, pp. 868-872, 1996.

[14] [14] F. Osawa, H. Seki, and Y. Kamiya, “Laundering Tasks Performed by a Robot –Spreading Out and Sorting of Crumpled the Clothes–,” Japan-USA Symposium on Flexible Automation, JS017, 2004.

Clothes Folding Task by Tool-Using Robot

Fumiaki Osawa*, Hiroaki Seki**, and Yoshitsugu Kamiya**

Fumiaki Osawa^*, Hiroaki Seki^, and Yoshitsugu Kamiya^