| Project Detail |
Slovenia’s steps towards robot manipulation of deformables
Robot handling of deformable objects, such as textiles, is a burgeoning research area propelled by advanced robot hardware and AI. The Jozef Stefan Institute (JSI) in Slovenia, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany and the Institut de Robòtica i Informàtica Industrial in Spain recognise the potential of the field and aim to become key players. The EU-funded ROMANDIC project aims to bring together academic and industrial stakeholders, policymakers and regulators to establish a Centre of Excellence in Robot Manipulation of Deformables. The goal is to foster and advance research with partners domestically and internationally. Additionally, the project will assist JSI in enhancing its management and leadership capabilities through knowledge transfer and the exchange of best practices.
Robot handling of deformable objects, such as textiles, is a research topic that has hit fertile ground with the advancement and accessibility of robot hardware, a change in thinking of application of robotics also outside of factories, and especially novel control and perception methodologies stemming from AI approaches. The topic has sprouted different independent research efforts all over the world and in Europe. At JSI, after some initial experiences, we recognize the potential impact in academia and society of this new research area, and believe we can become an important player. We want to combine and bring forward separate efforts on this topic by making a network of academic and industrial stakeholders in combination with policy makers and regulators, create a roadmap for the future, and become a Center of Excellence (COE) in Robot Manipulation of Deformables in the truest sense of the definition, as a network of institutions collaborating with each other to pursue excellence in a particular area. The proposed Twinning project initiative ROMANDIC (RObot MANipulation of Deformables through dynamIC actions) will provide the means to promote this novel and exciting field of research at JSI and internationally, but more importantly, facilitate and consolidate the managing and leading capabilities of (JSI) through knowledge transfer and exchange of best practice, so that it can indeed act as an informal COE. The three participating institutions have the complementary expertise required to succeed in the research aspect of ROMANDIC, and also the infrastructure and organisational experience required to create and promote best practices and lead initiatives at the national and international levels. The three institutions collaborated already in the past in several EU projects. |
