PICKPLACE

Pick and place are basic operations in most robotic applications, whether in industrial setups (e.g., machine tending, assembling or bin picking) or in a service robotic domain (e.g., agriculture or at home). In some structured scenarios and with certain types of parts, picking and placing is a mature process. However, that is not the case when it comes to manipulating parts with high variability or in less structured environments. Handling systems are present in any logistics system to interface between the storage and the transportation systems. For non-structured scenarios, picking, packing and unpacking systems do exist at laboratory level. However, they have not reached the market yet due to factors like the lack of efficiency, robustness and flexibility of currently available manipulation and perception technologies. The market demands systems that allow for a reduction of costs in the supply chain, increasing the competitiveness for manufacturers and bringing a cost reduction for consumers. Handling systems represent the highest impact in the short-tomidterm in warehouse-based systems (mainly at order picking and distribution centres) and in intra-logistics operations in factories and retail. The technology gap is the lack of flexible solutions that can handle objects of variable size, shape and weight as well as different surface properties and stiffness. PICKPLACE proposes combining human and robot capabilities to achieve a safe, flexible, dependable and efficient hybrid pick-and-package (PAK) solution. It includes dynamic package configuration planning, flexible grasping strategies using an innovative multifunctional gripper, robust environment perception and mechanisms and strategies for safe human-robot collaboration. These scientific and industrial objectives are motivated by the real requirements demanded by the industry, represented in this proposal by ULMA, System Provider, who will facilitate a realistic and relevant scenario for the validation