JURY ASSIGNMENT

Subject: Artificial Intelligence

Faculty: Mr. Aman Nagpal

TOPIC:
Robotics in apparel industry

Submitted by: Jinny Sebestian

Jyoti Rawal
Nikita Daniel
Nishtha Verma
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In preparation of my assignment, I had to take the help and guidance of some respected persons,
who deserve my deepest gratitude. As the completion of this assignment gave me much pleasure,
I would like to show my gratitude Mr. Aman Nagpal, Artificial Intelligence Faculty, of Nift
Kangra, for giving me good guideline for assignment throughout numerous consultations. I would
also like to expand my gratitude to all those who have directly and indirectly guided me in making
this assignment.

I also thank Nift Kangra for giving me such an opportunity to explore more with constant learning.
Many people, especially my classmates have made valuable comment suggestions on my paper
which gave me an inspiration to improve the quality of the assignment I have taken efforts in this
project.
However, it would not have been possible without the kind support and help of many individuals
and institution. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all of them. I am highly indebted to for
their guidance and constant supervision as well as for providing necessary information regarding
the project & also for their support in completing the project.
My thanks and appreciations also go to my classmates in developing the assignment and people
who have willingly helped me out with their abilities.
NEED FOR ROBOTICS IN APPAREL INDUSTRY

Apparel production is labor intensive. So, Increasing labor costs have been the most important
driver of sewing automation within the last 30 years.
Application of robotic automation in the textile and apparel industry provides so many benefits
like labor savings, reduced cycle times, improved part quality, improved safety, increase
productivity and efficiency.
Due to the popularity of RTW garments bulk production has become popular, the fundamental
clothing manufacturing process has not undergone much change over the past century, and is
considered by the progressive bundle system. Work or operation is planned in a manner that
each operator is specialized in one or a few operations.
The fabric is first cut into various garment panels and then grouped by components of the
garment, tied into bundles and sent to an assembling (sewing) section for making a garment.

SEWING AUTOMATION AT DIFFERENT COMPANIES

Today, clothes must still be hand-fed into a sewing machine. Also to consider is the labour costs
involved!
There is no doubt about the fact that sewing automation has ignited the world of automation! And
other startups are working on it.
Different companies use different methodologies for sewing automation! For
instance,
Kniterate, was founded several years ago and is trying to knit together ready-to-wear
garments. They perform this by the 3D printing of fabric. Here they establish that it requires no
fabric sewing at all!
Fabrican uses a “spray-on fabric,” where a chemical is applied directly to the body to create a
garment that moulds to any individual’s physical form.
SoftWare Automation uses computer-enabled cameras to track the location of the fabric and
determine stitching position.
But Sewbo appears to be the only startup using a stiffener to make fabric adaptable to existing
robots–a cheaper solution than building a machine that uses cameras and algorithms to
manipulate fabric, since Zornow estimates the cost of plastic needed to stiffen one shirt is less
than 10 cents.

Fabrican fabric spray

 HOW SEWING ROBOTS WORK
The work-line robots rely on high speed cameras, which see the individual threads in fabric,
pinpointing the exact location where a needle strikes and adjusting the garment accordingly.
The robot performs each task, including cutting, sewing seam, adding a sleeve, and quality
inspection. Computer vision guides the fabric in every step.
Using high calibre machine vision and real-time analysis, the robotics then continually manipulate
and adjust the fabric to be properly arranged.
The fabric is moved using two methods. The first is a four-axis robotic arm that can lift and lace
the fabric using a vacuum gripper.
The second is a 360-degree conveyor system which is a table of embedded spherical rollers.
With each roller, moving independently at high speeds, the rollers can relocate the fabric or
smooth the fabric as needed.

OVERALL IMPACT OF ROBOTICS IN APPAREL SECTOR

Multiple studies by organisations such as OECD and the World Bank have warned that
automation can leave millions of people jobless, not just in developing countries but also in
advanced economies.
As per a top Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (Basis) official, around
60 per cent of garment workers in Bangladesh will lose their jobs by 2030 and will be replaced by
robots because of the automation installed by the factory owners.
But as per Mr Rajan, SewBot chairman, Sewbots are not meant to replace all of garment
manufacturing. Using automation for high volume basic apparel enables sewing machine workers
to focus more on complex garments, while advancing their skill sets and commanding higher
wages all around the world
EXAMPLES OF ROBOTS USED IN THE GARMENT INDUSTRY

LOWRY SEWBOT

This is a robot by Software Automation , USA.

It has the ability to produce variety of products regardless of the shape or size.
It is completely configurable and adaptable to the uniqueness of the product.
Some of the products are t-shirts and footwear along with tote bags and rugs.
The digital T-shirt work line can produce a t-shirt twice as fast as manual sewing.
Cuts labour by 80 % .
Assembles and sews a t-shirt in 2.5
minutes.
The Lowry system is also compatible
for installation with existing cutters,
fabric transfers and sewing machines
and can run without unproductive
downtime.
The Lowry system is a dour axis that
robot can be used for fabric handling,
pick and place operations.
The system uses high speed visual
sensors to precisely track and prevent
distortion during sewing process.
The system also allows importing of
pattern design files from the software
to online sewing CAD software before
exporting to the lowry for production
Lowry sewbot

Lowry sewbot
SEWBO

Sewbo, an industrial robot programmed to tackle the tricky tack, assembles clothes.
Sewbo tackles by impregnating the fabric with PVA, a non-toxic biodegradable polymer.
The temporarily stiffened fabric then can be processed like sheet metal.
It can be welded, molded, and most importantly, grabbed and sewn by the robot in a
repeatable manner.
From the finished garment, the PVA is removed by simply rinsing it with warm water.

Sewbo

Sewbo
 KNITERATE

Kniterate is a compact digital knitting

machine that brings fashion fabrication into
the
workshop.
Kniterate can help you create custom
knitted products like scarves, beanies,
sweaters, dresses, and more.
The knitting machine is computer-
controlledand acts like a 3d printer.
The design is put and the stitches are Kniterate
transferred automatically. It has up to six
yarn feeders to make amazing patterns,
structures and shapes that are hard to knit.
It allows one to create digital designs in
Photoshop and turn them into a wearable
garments in just a few hours.

Kniterate software interface

ADIDAS AND AUTOMATED SEWBOTS!

This is a major breakthrough in the automation of garment assembly by the global partnership!
Leading sportswear brand Adidas is planning to produce 800,000 T-shirts per day using fully
automated SewbotWorkline’s supplied by SoftWear Automation, of Atlanta, GA.
Tianyuan Garments Company, of Suzhou, China, the largest producer of apparel for Adidas
worldwide, has partnered with SoftWear Automation to produce the T-shirts.

The Manufacturing Scenario Using SewBots!

By using advanced machine vision, cutting-edge computing and robotic sewing, the Sewbots will
be able to handle soft fabrics and actually “make” T-shirts. China-based Tianyuan Garments
Company, which owns the Arkansas plant, aims to produce massive volumes of tees for Adidas
with the
Sewbots.
From fabric cutting and sewing to finished product, it takes roughly four minutes,” Tang Xinhong,
chairman of Tianyuan Garments, recently told China Daily. “We will install 21 production lines.
When fully operational, the system will make one T-shirt every 22 seconds.” Labour costs, Tang
says, will be about 33 cents per shirt. “Around the world, even the cheapest labour market can’t
compete with us,” he says, noting the plant’s operations will ultimately generate 400 new jobs in
Arkansas.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF AUTOMATIC SEWING

The use of automation and robotics helps in improving the quality and efficiency but they are
expensive and need program changes when the style of the garment is different. Table describes the
advantages and disadvantages of application of automation and robotics in sewing.

FUTURE ROBOTIC AUTOMATION AND ITS IMPACT!

The biggest concern about the rise of robots, automation and artificial intelligence is the job
loss! According to the statistics on the apparel industry revolution by sewing robots, the entire
garment industry employs 60 to 75 million people worldwide. In a report by the International Labour
Organization (ILO says that automated assembly lines will most likely cost the jobs of 90 per cent of
garment workers!
CONCLUSION

Robot-based sewing systems have already been developed but have only been used in special
applications in small series production so far. Therefore, on the one hand, systems to produce
clothing and on the other hand to produce mass products (such as headrests, airbags, etc.) have
been developed. The limitation in various sizes of the textiles has severely limited its suitability for
use. Further problems for the automation of the manufacture are the choice of the sewing
technique (e.g., double locked stitch, double chain stitch), the limited design possibilities, the
preliminary and subsequent process steps or the handling times. Although there are several
difficulties ahead of the automation and use of robotics, the days are not far when the garments will
be fully manufactured by industrial robots.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
https://clothingindustry.blogspot.com/2018/08/application-robotics-apparel-production.html
https://www.deviceplus.com/trending/sewbot-in-the-clothing-manufacturing-industry/
https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/7183/use-of-robots-automation-in-the-garment-
industry