Mechanism and Design of Tableware Tidying-up Robot for Self-Service Restaurant

In this study, we developed an automated tableware tidying-up robot mechanism to clean tableware in self-service restaurant with a large number of tableware. In particular, we focus on the process of sorting and collecting tableware where in the tray on which the tableware is placed is placed on the conveyor belt by the guest. The separated tableware was placed in a washing machine. Our mechanism also deals with garbage and leftover food. The parallel arm and robot hand mechanism were designed to realize the advantages of low cost, high processing speed, and space saving. The effectiveness of the prototype robot arm and hand was verified through an experiment of grasping tableware and an experiment of throwing leftover food by rotating fingers.