We are not limiting ourselves and our technology to one system, use-case or industry. sewts is developing a unique software suite that combines commercial off-the-shelf robots, grippers and cameras into an intelligent system, thereby increasing the performance of the individual components many times over. This approach enables the automation of many processes that were previously not technically feasible – such as the handling of textiles – and opens up a new era of robotics.

Industrial laundries wash and dry textiles in a highly automated environment to cope with the large quantities of dirty linen. There are even machines that take care of folding the laundry. But they have one major drawback: Each one of these machines requires an employee who feeds the laundry spread out and without any wrinkles. 

Human labor involves high costs, with 30% of the personnel costs in laundries alone being accounted for by equipping folding machines. And there is another problem: Feeding the folding machines manually is a highly exhausting and unpleasant job. Industrial laundries struggle with finding qualified personnel and could double their production if enough workers were available. 

That’s where our VELUM system comes in. sewts VELUM feeds towels and similar laundry made of terrycloth into existing folding machines, closing this significant gap in automation. Our inhouse developed AI analyzes the textile and translates these findings into robotic commands. VELUM is optimized for adaptability and handles all sorts of towels up to sizes of 1x2m – without restrictions regarding color or texture.

The automation problems we will tackle with our technology have one thing in common: They are enormously complex, require non-repetitive motion patterns and deal with dynamic process parameters. Many manual tasks have these same characteristics and were therefore exempt from automation until now. sewts is pushing the boundaries of automation technology and opening up new possibilities for robotic handling.