Optimizing Object Placement for Human Support Robots Using a Two-dimensional Irregular Packing Algorithm for Efficient Tray Storage

Abstract

Human support robots (HSR) are robots that assist humans in their daily tasks.Their main application is tidying up, which involves detecting objects, determining appropriate placement locations, and organizing them.This study focuses on tidying up tray storage.Determining suitable storage positions is essential for storing objects in the tray.If the robot store objects in fixed predetermined locations, it can lead to inefficient use of storage space, and in the worst case, objects might collide and overflow from the tray.To address this limitation, we propose a 2-dimensional irregular packing algorithm utilizing an object mask method to calculate the best placement location.This study evaluates the proposed packing algorithm against the standard method to determine which approach is more effective in HSR applications.