Development of a collaborative robotic system to polish leather surfaces

ABSTRACT

Patina is the natural aging process that gives leather a unique, worn appearance. However, this patina effect can also be created artificially by using specific products to rub the leather surface. This research presents a new and innovative method to automate the process of creating patina on leather footwear using collaborative robots. These types of finishing tasks on medium size objects are delicate and often require adjustments by skilled craftsmen, adding complexity to the automation process. This new solution involves designing and implementing a collaborative tool specifically created to cultivate a patina finish on shoe surfaces. The system aims to speed up the process without compromising the quality of the finished product. In order to accomplish this task, a collaborative robot that can regulate contact force and a preexisting software feature for recording manual paths are utilized together with the skills of an expert craftsman. This enables the robot’s end effector to conform to the curved contours of the shoe. Furthermore, the tool’s path and position are modified based on the data from the CAD model to ensure precise outcomes. This study introduces a novel technique for automated and partially automated patina development in the shoe industry. This work presents a system integrated into a productive facility and it is currently being used.

KEYWORDS:

• Footwear industry
• collaborative robotics
• human-robot interaction

Acknowledgements

This research has been partly funded by project CPP2021-008593, funded by CIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the European Union-NextGenerationEU/PRTR.

This research has been partly funded by the Spanish Government (Grant PID2020-117421RB-C21 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.