The robotic assembly of garments with concealed seams

Some garment designs require complex manipulation of partially assembled panels to be carried out during the manufacturing process. The double concealed seam construction provides one such example, and it is shown how this may be carried out using robotic techniques. The problem considered here is, given the front, back and gusset panels, to determine how they can be joined automatically to give concealed seams within a reasonable timescale and using inexpensive equipment which can be reprogrammed to deal with size and minor design changes. The solutions adapted are described, followed by some examples of the hardware and software and the experimental results.<>