Robotic Unfolding of Hemmed Fabric using Pinching Slip Motion

Abstract

This paper describes an unfolding motion of fabric in air using pinching slip motion. During the pinching slip motion, the weight of the fabric generates relative movement between the moving fingertips and the fabric. The moving fingertips can hook into the hem of the fabric during the unfolding motion if the appropriate shaped fingertips and the grasping force are selected. In this paper, we simulate the pressure distribution of moving fingertips during the unfolding. We make a model of the contact between a fingertip and the hem of fabric based on fluid dynamics; the contact is considered as the collision between fluid and a block.