Insertion task in formation of rubber hose by robot

Many processes involve the manipulation of easily deformable objects such as food and cloth products, and the automation of such processes is required. However, there are still many challenges in pick-and-place, assembly and handling those objects using industrial robots. The insertion task involved in the formation of rubber hoses is an example of such a task. In this study, to automate the rubber hose insertion task, a preliminary investigation of friction force that affects the insertion task was examined and it was found that the air injection into the hose was effective to reduce the friction force. Based on the result, an air injection robotic hand (AIR-Hand) and a hose buckling preventing hand (HELP-Hand) were developed for a dual-arm robot. Furthermore, we integrated those two end effectors into one for a single-arm robot. The hose insertion task was successfully performed by both the dual-arm and single-arm robots, along with their corresponding manipulation plans.