Viscoelastic Polyurethane Pillow Handling

Objective: Viscoelastic polyurethane pillow handling on dangerous processes by using robotic arm.

Current situation and problem description: In the current situation is not solved to use robotic arm for manipulation of different shape of viscoelastic polyurethane pillow. The softness of the product is more difficult to grasp and move, so this task is a big challenge. The robot should be able to handle of pillows without any damages. The workers handle manually the dangerous tools. In addition, it is a great development that all products are individually recorded for quality.

How the use case (demonstration scenario) will work: PEMU provides the basic conditions, machines for performing the experiments. Project partners bring the robot, gripper and cameras. During the development project, camera, optimal gripper and quality control will be developed. In the current process, the worker performs the handling and qualification, but using the robot, this process will be automatic and documented. This reduces the number of products that are considered defective.

Expected outcome (Envisaged pilot execution or potential solution): By using robots, the manufacturing process can be made more stable. Downtime and the potential for human error can also be reduced. Due to the integrated data collection system, the data of which comes from the gripper and the camera, the documentation can be increased.

Expected impact: The robotized handling processes and automation of the online quality process will contribute to the reduction of human error in the process, such as an incorrect positioning and, thus, the subsequent discard (wasted time, energy, resources).