multipurpose robotics for mAniPulation of defoRmable materIaLs in manufacturing processes

Today, the strength of modern industries relies on a wide-ranging incorporation of robotics in manufacturing systems, thanks to the improvements in cost reduction, safety and productivity afforded by this technology. Industrial robots exist in a variety of automation modules and offer many capabilities and application possibilities. However, in Europe, there is always a need for low-cost, multipurpose robots that could be put to work in various industries in manufacturing production. The EU-funded APRIL project aims to fill this gap by introducing to the market multipurpose, and easy to repurpose, autonomous dexterous robots able to manipulate, assemble and process different soft and flexible materials in a production line environment. These robots will sense and understand the production environment, successfully manipulate a wide range of objects, learn, plan and execute ergonomic motions which will make human robot collaboration simpler, more efficient and easier to deploy.