Can a robotic machine (or a team of such machines) sew clothes? Anyone who has even an amateur relationship with sewing knows that fabrics have lots of whims. Sometimes two human hands aren’t enough to handle them. In any case, they behave in unpredictable ways. How could any algorithm “internalize” the unpredictable ways fabrics behave in the sewing machine?
The robotics company Sewbo flipped the problem on its head. Instead of trying to find the algorithm, it turned to the fabrics. And the solution it came up with was brutally simple: stiffening! Before the pieces are sewn, the fabric is stiffened so that it becomes as rigid as cardboard. After that, handling by robotic machines is easy: it won’t wrinkle, twist, or bunch at the seams.
After sewing is completed, a simple wash restores the fabrics to their normal state.
“Moral lesson”? Some “craftsman” came up with this trick, not the smartest machine in the world. Courage! Courage and not dumbing down!!!