Manufacturing of a shoe or a portion of a shoe is enhanced by automated placement of shoe parts. For example, a part-recognition system analyzes an image of a shoe part to identify the part and determine a location of the part. Once the part is identified and located, the part can be manipulated in an automated manner.

A skewer-type gripper for one-sidedly receiving a test sample positioned in a defined manner and still compressed by plungers in a punching device and consisting of viscoelastic materials with an upper side and an edge area. The gripper has a base and skewer-type means arranged in a plane therein, which can pierce into the edge area of the still compressed test sample parallel to the upper side. The skewer-type means are configured in such a way that the test sample can be received and held in a torque-proof manner by the skewer-type means. The gripper is configured and set up for horizontally receiving the test sample from a punching device, and the gripper or skewer-type means can be exposed to a feed force for this purpose.

There is discussed a method of picking and placing bulbs, in which bulbs are supplied on a supply surface of a bulbs supply system; the bulbs being identified and picked from the supply surface with a pick-and-place head; wherein picked bulbs are transferred from the pick-and-place head, shoot-first and roots-last to a transfer-receptacle comprising at least one bulb-receptor, wherein the bulb-receptor temporarily clutches said bulb.

A method is performed by a computing system. The method includes receiving image data from an imaging device, and determining, using the image data, a plurality of image-space tools, each image-space tool associated with a tool of a plurality of tools, each tool controlled by a manipulator of a plurality of manipulators. The method further includes determining a first correspondence between a first image-space tool of the plurality of image-space tools and a first tool of the plurality of tools based on a first disambiguation setting associated with the first tool.

System and methods for manipulating and sorting of objects being moved along a conveyor are disclosed, whereby control of the object is achieved through the application of one or more of vacuum, impaling, or mechanical grasping. One embodiment is directed to a robotic arm and vision detection system operable for detecting a target object to be grasped from a stream of objects being moved on a conveyor, and moving a suction head into position over the target object that has been detected on the conveyor, the suction head having a flexible cup section disposed at a distal end thereof, the vacuum item pick-up system/method using high subsonic air flow (e.g., on the order of 60 scfm or more) through a suction cup having a flow opening area large enough that an airflow of 60 scfm does not result in an airspeed exceeding Mach 0.2 under standard conditions of temperature and pressure, and further having a flow opening area whose ratio to cup opening area falls between 0.36 and 1.44 for applying a desired vacuum suction force for grasping the target object. Either as a primary grasping mechanism, or as an optional supplemental grasping mechanism, a piercing mechanism may be inserted into the object and used to manipulate the object in space. Alternate systems/methods for manipulating and sorting objects via hitting, flicking, or pushing are also disclosed.

This disclosure concerns methods for processing and grading food articles including x-raying the food articles a first time and taking a 3D image of the food articles.

An apparatus and a method for automatically applying, without the intervention of an operator, rubber elements on a die-cutter during the manufacturing step thereof, are described. The apparatus comprises a manipulator, preferably a robotic arm, and a needle gripper. The gripper withdraws the water jet pre-cut rubber elements from a sheet with double-sided adhesive tape, and places them one by one at the point provided for by the working program.

Embodiments provide a system suitable for handling and correcting elastic materials and a method thereof. In the embodiments, a system for handling and correcting elastic materials includes a workbench, and also includes: an image recognition device, a control unit, a motion robot and a correction device. The present disclosure is intended to provide a system for handling and correcting elastic materials and a method thereof, relying on automatic equipment to perform correction operations, with high degree of automation and precise control.

Exemplary embodiments provide enhancements for soft robotic actuators. In some embodiments, angular adjustment systems are provided for varying an angle between an actuator and the hub, or between two actuators. The angular adjustment system may also be used to vary a relative distance or spacing between actuators. According to further embodiments, rigidizing layers are provided for reinforcing one or more portions of an actuator at one or more locations of relatively high strain. According to further embodiments, force amplification structures are provided for increasing an amount of force applied by an actuator to a target. The force amplification structures may serve to shorten the length of the actuator that is subject to bending upon inflation. According to still further embodiments, gripping pads are provided for customizing an actuator's gripping profile to better conform to the surfaces of items to be gripped.

A system for opening a box having a body part and a lid, and for removing one or more food items from the box, includes a first tool for attaching to the body part, and a second tool for attaching to a surface of the lid at one or more points of contact and applying at each of the one or more points of contact a force to the lid having a component in a direction normal to the surface at the point of contact. Each of the first tool and the second tool is powered. The first tool and the second tool are arranged for orienting and/or displacing the lid concerning the body part to open the box with the lid, and moving and/or orienting the body part to remove the one or more food items from the box.