Page 235 - Concise Encyclopedia of Robotics

PALLETIZING AND DEPALLETIZING P
In manufacturing processes, it is often necessary to take objects from a
conveyor belt and place them on a tray designed especially to fit them.
The tray is called a pallet, and the process of filling it is called palletizing.
The reverse process, in which objects are removed from the pallet and
placed on the conveyor, is called depalletizing.
A complex sequence of motions is necessary to remove something
from a conveyor, find an empty spot on a pallet, and place the object into
the vacant spot correctly. Consider a pallet with holes for eight square
pegs. One hole is filled; the other seven are vacant. Suppose that a robot
is programmed to palletize pegs until the tray is full, then get another tray
and fill it, and so on. Its instructions might be crudely depicted some-
thing like this:
1. Start palletizing routine.
2. Are pegs coming along the conveyor?
a. If not, go to step 7.
b. If so, go to step 3.
3. Is the pallet full?
a. If not, keep it.
b. If so, load it on the truck, get a new pallet, and put it in place to
be filled up.
4. Get the first available peg from the conveyor.
5. Place the peg in the lowest numbered empty hole in the pallet.
6. Go to step 2.
7. Await further instructions.

PARADIGM
See HIERARCHICAL PARADIGM, HYBRID DELIBERATIVE/REACTIVE PARADIGM, and REACTIVE PARADIGM.

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