Robotic Manipulation System for Multi-Layer Fabric Stitching

Designing gripping and manipulation systems for soft materials is an interesting but challenging task that has been widely investigated in the robotic field recently. Soft materials require a departure from traditional methodologies proposed for grasping rigid objects. The presented work is step towards manipulating planar soft materials, namely garments. A work-cell to automate the stitching, involving the manipulation of a fabric cloth and a foam pad is described and simulated. The results of the simulation show the feasibility, and speeds comparable to humans. This work is part of SOFTMANBOT project, a cross-sectoral project funded in the EU Horizon 2020 framework.