Bag Bin-Picking Based on an Adjustable, Sensor-Integrated Suction Gripper

Robot-based separation and handling of flexible packaging bags filled with small individual parts is a special challenge in the field of bin-picking. Reasons for this are challenges in the field of orientation and position recognition of bags within the extraction station, the damagefree and reliable handling of these bags as well as a precise bag deposition inside a target region (e.g. final packaging). This paper presents an adjustable, sensor-integrated suction gripper optimized for bag binpicking. The multi-modal sensing hardware used for the gripper is based on weight force measurement and vacuum sensors for the separation. Additional ultrasonic sensors are used to reduce the risk to damage the bag’s content and the gripper. The performed tests proof the feasibility of the approach in terms of robustness and achievable cycle times.