Unfolding of Massive Laundry and Classification Types by Dual Manipulator

With a progress of an aging society with fewer children, an introduction of robots for family use is expected. Focusing on laundry cleanup by robots, we are studying clothing classification for folding by a dual manipulator. Fabrics vary greatly in handling, making it difficult for robots to recognize and handle them easily. We propose determining clothing form and classifying types by alternately regrasping clothing and expanding them using a dual manipulator. Because clothing is classified and unfolded simultaneously, folding after this is easy. We confirmed the feasibility of our proposal in classifications using a real machine and eight types of laundry.