Unraveling of Deformable Linear Objects Based on 2D Information about Their Crossing States

A planning method for unraveling deformable linear objects based on 2D information about their crossing states is proposed. In manipulation of a linear object, its raveling must be avoided. It takes much time to unravel it once it is raveled. Therefore, it is important to generate unraveling plans efficiently. First, an unraveling process of a linear object is represented a sequence of crossing state transitions. It can be generated on a computer if 3D information about the current crossing state is given. Second, the crossing sequence of a linear object, which corresponds to its 2D information, is categorized into two types: unravelable and not-unravelable. Third, a procedure to generate efficient unraveling processes based on unravelability of the crossing sequence is explained. Finally, examples of unraveling process generation with our developed system are demonstrated