Cooperative human-robot polishing for the task of patina growing on high-quality leather shoes

[EN] A patina is essentially the weathered look a piece of leather takes on as it ages. The patina finishing aspect can be also generated or grown artificially by scrubbing the leather surface with specific products. These kinds of manual finishing operations on small objects are delicate and regula...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Borrell, Jorge, González, Alejandra, Pérez-Vidal, Carlos, Gracia Calandin, Luis Ignacio|||0000-0001-9258-9286, Solanes, J. Ernesto|||0000-0001-5011-4872
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV)
Repositorio:RiuNet. Repositorio Institucional de la Universitat Politécnica de Valéncia
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:riunet.upv.es:10251/231361
Acceso en línea:https://riunet.upv.es/handle/10251/231361
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Robotics
Industry
Human-robot
Collaborative robot
Shoe
Descripción
Sumario:[EN] A patina is essentially the weathered look a piece of leather takes on as it ages. The patina finishing aspect can be also generated or grown artificially by scrubbing the leather surface with specific products. These kinds of manual finishing operations on small objects are delicate and regularly need slight corrections carried out by skilled artisans, which adds complexity to the process automation and implies various key aspects to consider. This research presents a novel approach for automatic and semiautomatic shoe patina growing in the footwear industry using a new co-creative method based on cooperative robotics. The system automates the process in pursuit of operator time-saving without reducing the work finishing quality. For this purpose, the use of a collaborative robot with a built-in constant contact force control and a collaborative tool are used in this research. The use of both tools in complementarity with the knowledge of the craftsman leads the robot end-effector adaptation to the inherent curved surfaces over the shoe. Besides, some orientation corrections are applied based on the CAD model for the task to be accurately accomplished. The solution has been successfully integrated in a real production line, and it is currently in use.